I recently attended a meeting about human trafficking that was hosted by the American Association of University Women, which works for “empowering women.”
Our congressman, Chris Smith, has been an advocate in the fight against human trafficking, which is a noble pursuit. At the meeting, I listened to Congressman Smith talk about how women are abused, abducted, raped and enslaved. He said he has worked to protect women.
However, Congressman Smith’s voting record weakens the anti-human trafficking program and degrades the empowerment of women. If Congressman Smith wants to empower women, why did he vote against the Violence Against Women Act? Why did he write legislation to change the language of rape to “forcible rape” in his HR3 bill — thus empowering rapists, not women?
Why does Congressman Smith refuse to support expanded federal background checks when guns are a dangerous piece in the abuse of women? Why did he vote in favor of the Ryan bill when it defunds the Violence Against Women program and Head Start programs that assist underserved children?
Why did he vote against equal pay for women? Why is he trying to limit women’s choice and birth control access, including the birth control pill? Why has Congressman Smith voted to close clinics that provide women with preventative health care, including breast and cervical cancer screenings?
At that April 23 meeting, I asked Congressman Smith why he consistently votes against the very women he claims to be protecting. His answer was about traveling to China to stop the genocide of female fetuses. I repeated my question to Congressman Smith, but he had no answer.
Unfortunately, the questioning was ended — perhaps to save Congressman Smith from further incriminating himself.
Still, it was obvious to everyone in the room that he already had. Robin Nowicki Manalapan