OCR Text |
Show The Paper That Dares To Take A Stand Continued from page October 6, 1977 The Utah Independent Page 7 1 Fireworks Ahead Among the Majority Sex f . in while the national commission setup a transition phase from Ford members to Carter members, the surviving staff cooked up some formidable rules. These were laid down in the "Federal Register of Feb. 25 and amplified in the March 28 "Federal Register. The purpose, although it surely would be denied, was to make as certain as certain could be that everything went tickety-bo- o in the several state conventions. The general idea was for the national commission to appoint state commissions that would go dutifully down the line for ERA and all the rest. These state commissions were expected to name nominating committees that would produce right-thin- k election; and the rules coning slates for rubber-stam- p tained some ingenious parliamentary safeguards intended to make dissension and insurrection ever so Earlygoing1977,through difficult. The newsman who undertakes to cover this story gets diametrically opposite versions of what happened next. The national commission people and their official state counterparts insist that the state meetings were widely advertised, that rules and regulations were available well in advance of the scheduled meetings, and that vigorous efforts were made to provide a fair balance of conflicting views on ERA and everything else. Their opponents insist, to the contrary, that they learned of the state conferences largely by accident, that the rules were manipulated to prevent opposition candidates from being nominated or elected, and that the workshops and plenary sessions were skillfully rigged to project the appearance, but not the substance, of fairness and balance. Well, you pays your money and you takes your choice. The state meetings began with Verjnont on Feb. 26; they concluded with a raft of states in late July. Of the 56 separate women's conferences, all but eight or ten went largely by the script. The national office provided each state coordinating committee with 16 core resolutions, including, naturally, a resolution in support of the ERA. Under the rules and regulations, every state conference was required to consider as many of the recommendations of the commission as is feasible. On March 17 the national office advised the state bodies that the national office was very hopeful that every state meeting would "express itselF' on most, if not all, of the resolutions. Hint, hint, hint. The state coordinating committees would have had to be as insensible as concrete blocks not to know what was expected of them. The first few state conferences passed without incident. Vermont women turned out, despite a heavy snowfall, to endorse the prepared slate of delegates to Houston and to adopt all the right resolutions. In Alaska a diverse delegation was approved to represent the women of the state four Caucasians, three Tlingits, two Eskimos, one Athabascan, one black, and one Japanese. All this was in accordance with the act of Congress. ' Arizona elected a similarly diverse delegation. Colorado was on its best behavior. In New Mexico the professional parliamentarian was so impressed with the meeting that she turned back her fee to the coordinating committee. North Dakota, Wisconsin, and Oregon all went by the. book. But small clouds began to gather. The Minnesota obediently supported all the national goals, but a confrontation developed between factions. Missouri was a shocker. and and anti-ERgroups formed a There the potent coalition. Oklahoma was a real shocker. There the official state planners found themselves outplanned, and outmaneuvered by an unexpected army of churchwomen who suddenly arrived in Stillwater, ready to shout down the national resolutions and to adopt some spirited resolutions of their own. They began with a resolution against the ERA and continued with a resolution terming homemaking the most vital and rewarding of careers for women. Montana also came undone. The liberationists who had lined up the program found themselves overwhelmed by a legion of Montana women who refused to be roped, tied, and corralled. "Caucus Turns Raucous, headlined the Great. Falls Tribune. GerrideeWheeler, anti-aborti- easy-aborti- on anti-aborti- out-hustle- d, on on one of the 13 Ford appointees who survived to serve on the Carter commission, said she was appalled, dismayed, and distressed at what occurred. She rued similar disruptions in Oklahoma and Missouri. In Utah the professional planners never had a chance. Thousands of Mormon women calmly took over the state conference and made it their own. Ohio and Mississippi balked at the parliamentary ride they had been expected to take. One of the angriest conferences occurred in Florida, where embittered dissenters felt they were flattened by unfair parliamentary rulings from the chair. Perhaps the most embarrassing session took place in Hawaii, where a dance group entertained the assembled women with lesbian skits. Some of the Hawaiian women, notably businesswoman Helen Priester, were not the least bit entertained. Ms. Priester described her reaction in a public statement: I was so angry and so insulted at having been innocently subjected to such horrid sex acts on the stage that I left the convention at 3 p.m., went home, took a shower, a swim, another shower, and still felt dirty both inside and out for ing witnessed such filth. At the Florida convention, lesbian activism also was regarded by some women in attendance as grossly offensive. factions, wherever they appeared, The minority fueled by powerful resentments. They resented the parliamentary stacking and rigging, but there was something deeper. For the past ten or 15 years, since the women's liberation movement began to pick up steam, the homemakerhousewife has felt herself demeaned, ridiculed, and belittled. Beside her glamorous professional sisters, who are leading sexually liberated lives as editors, lawyers, and career women, the wifemother has seen herself regarded as a shabby second-rate- r. This summer saw the simmering resentments boil over. At national headquarters in Washington, spokeswomen express shock that this rebellious attitude could have developed. After all, it is emphasized, the very first project of the national office was. to direct preparation handbooks on the legal status of homeof makers. The liberationists deny any feeling of contempt for the wifemother. Nevertheless, the mutual hostility hangs in the air. Each side accuses the other of trampling upon civil rights. In the lexicon of the professional International Womens Year planners, dissent and disruption are all the same thing; women who oppose the ERA are seen as fascists. Biit in the opposing view, International Womens Year leaders are denounced as lesbians or as harlots, dictators, bossy women, or murderers this last because of their position in favor of abortion. A good thunderstorm often clears the sticky air. This antimay prove the case at Houston. The anti-ERwill no more than a small abortion contingent constitute commission The national having apjxjinLed minority. all conference officials, arranged for the speakers, and stacked the credentials and rules committees will be in absolute command. If the commission's control is exercised gently and tactfully, a little tearful rain may fall, but some constructive work may be accomplished. On the other hand, if Ms. Abzug throws her considerable weight around, and if the lesbians mortally offend the sensibilities of the straights, the proceedings could wind ' up in walkouts and rump sessions. state-by-sta- te A, A Houston promises to provide a story Either way, covering. Two thousand fractious and determined women constitute a formidable force. That force should produce action and perhaps, if Newton's laws apply, an equal and opposite reaction also. "The Fireworks Ahead Among The Majority Sex" by James J. Kilpatrick first appeared in the September 1977 issue of The Nations Business. 1615 H Street NW, Washington, DC 20062, and is reprinted by permission of the publisher. AN ATTACK ON CHILD PORNOGRAPHY Sen. Jake Gam (R-U- T) have received many letters from . Utahns who are very distressed over the growing problem of child pornography, the most disturbing form of child abuse in this country. Our young children, boys and girls alike, are being used in sexual activities for pornographic publications and movies. Most often these children are lured or enticed by adults who use money, gifts, drugs and even threats of violence. This activity and the materials it produces have grown dollar trade into a multi-milliwell-beiof threatening the . thousands of children. In an effort to stamp out child pornography, I have three bills to protect children from sexual exploitation. Senate Bills 1040 and 101 1, seek to prohibit the sexual exploitation of children and the transportation in interstate or foreign commerce of photographs I on ng of films depicting such exploitation. S. 101 would amend the United States Criminal Code making it a felony to cause or knowingly permit a child underage 16 to engage in pornographic activities which could be The photographed or filmed. legislation would further make it a felony for anyone to ship or to receive this material depicting a child engaging in a prohibited act. I have also S. 585, the Protection of Children Against Sexual Exploitation Act of 1977.-Thilegislation fills two significant voids in the U.S. Criminal Code. First, it would make it a crime for a person to use, or permit to use, any in the production child of And pornographic materials. it would amend the secondly, Mann Act which prohibits the transportation across state lines of minor girls for illegal purposes, to include young boys. Child pornography is the most sordid form of pornography and should be halted immediately. I am optimistic that these legislative actions will help to remedy this critical situation. The Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency of the Senate Judiciary Committee has held hearings on these bills and they have been reported with amendments to the full Senate. I will fight for the Senate to take prompt action on a tough bill that will help eliminate this moral blight and trust that the House will quickly join us. 1 1 s |