Violence Against Women Act
Violence Against Women ActThe Violence Against Women Act creates a right to be "free
from crimes of violence" that are gender motivated. It also gives a
private civil right of action to the victims of these crimes. The
Senate report attached to the act states that "Gender based crimes and
fear of gender based crimes...reduces employment opportunities and
consumer spending affecting interstate commerce."
Sara Benenson has been abused by her husband, Andrew Benenson,
since 1978. Because of this abuse, she sued her husband under various
tort claims and violations under the Violence Against Women Act. Now
Mr. Benenson is protesting the constitutionality of this act claiming
that Congress has no right to pass a law that legislates for the
common welfare.
However, Congress has a clear Constitutional right to regulate
interstate commerce. This act is based solely on interstate commerce
and is thereforeConstitutional. Because of abuse, Sara Benenson was
afraid to get a job because it would anger her husband. She was afraid
to go back to school and she was afraid to go shopping or spend any
money on her own. All three of these things clearly interfere and
affect interstate commerce. Women like Mrs. Benenson are the reason
the act was passed.
There has been a long history of judgements in favor of
Congress's power to legislate using the commerce clause as a
justification. For the past fifty years, Congress's right to interpret
the commerce clause has been unchallenged by the Court with few
exceptions. There is no rational reason for this court to go against
the powerful precedents set by the Supreme court to allow Congress to
use the Commerce clause.
In the case of Katzenbach v. McClung, the Court upheld an act
of Congress which was based on the commerce clause, that prohibited
segregation. McClung, the owner of a barbeque that would not allow
blacks to eat inside the restaurant, claimed that his business was
completely intrastate. He stated that his business had little or no
out of state business and was therefore not subject to the act passed
by Congress because it could not legislate intrastate commerce. The
Court however, decided that because the restaurant received some of
it's food from out of state that it was involved in interstate
commerce.
The same logic should be applied in this case. Even though
Sara Benenson's inability to work might not seem to affect interstate
commerce, it will in some way as with McClung, thus making the act
constitutional. The Supreme Court had decided that any connection with
interstate commerce,as long as it has a rational basis, makes it
possible for Congress to legislate it. In the United States v. Lopez
decision, The Supreme Court struck down the Gun Free School Zones Act....
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