Thursday, May 9, 2013

A Reader Writes: "Yesterday Minnesota Established the Minnesota Child Victims Act Civil Law"




In response to my posting earlier today about the gathering of people of faith in St. Paul yesterday to pray that the circle of love, justice, and inclusion will be widened to include same-sex couples wanting the right of civil marriage, Bob Schwiderski writes


Bill, yesterday Minnesota established the Minnesota Child Victims Act civil law, sexual abuse of minors and adults -- today the Minnesota Senate will pass the Marriage Equality bill.  
[ For those that wonder why I live in Minnesota ► because ◄ I want to - smile ]

Bob's right to celebrate! The Child Victims Act is a major breakthrough in Minnesota, and he and the SNAP group there played a chief role in making this event happen. As Kristi Ward notes today for National Survivor Advocates Coalition (NSAC), Bob is a founding member of NSAC and a SNAP leader, and,

The National Survivor Advocates  Coalition (NSAC) salutes the hard but profoundly successful work of Minnesota survivors and supporters to protect children through the passage of a bill in the state Senate yesterday that will, if signed by the Governor, eliminate the statute of limitations on sexual abuse going forward. The Minnesota House recently passed the measure and the same hard work by survivors and supporters took place before the House vote. If a conference committee is not required, it will move directly to Governor Mark Dayton. It is expected that he will sign the measure. 

I join Kristi Ward in saluting Bob Schwiderski and the good folks who worked so hard to pass this legislation in Minnesota. And I agree: isn't it interesting that the marriage equality bill now before the Minnesota House will be voted on the very day after the Child Victims Act passed--both pieces of legislation that, to their eternal shame, the bishops of my Catholic church have stoutly opposed.

The graphic: one among several posters supporting the Minnesota Child Victims Act from the National Center for Victims of Crime.

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