The Young Democrats of Louisiana have sent out a new e-mail against Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) — the staunch social conservative who was implicated in a prostitution scandal — declaring that we can only guess at his motivations for opposing legislation to crack down on rape.
The letter blasts Vitter for voting against the amendment to the Defense Appropriations bill by Sen. Al Franken (D-MN), which will guarantee employees of military contractors access to the court system if they are sexually assaulted:
On Tuesday, the U.S. Senate passed an Amendment to make sure taxpayer-funded government contractors cannot deny rape victims a day in court. For reasons only he knows, David Vitter voted against ensuring women have the right to seek justice.
Since David Vitter has not publicly stated why he is opposed to making sure women who are raped or sexually assaulted can pursue their attackers, we can only guess his motivations.
However, it is clear that Vitter regularly votes against the best interests of women.
The full e-mail is available after the jump.
David Vitter’s Women Problems
Dear ______,
Let me ask you a question.
Do you think a woman who has been raped or sexually assaulted should be able to have her day in court?
I imagine this should be a simple question to answer as the U.S. Constitution says every American has the right to due process. In America, victims of crime should be able to go after criminals and those who help them.
Unfortunately, Jamie Leigh Jones found out the hard way that women who are raped can’t count on their day in court. In 2005, Jones was working for KBR/Halliburton in Iraq when she says she was gang raped by co-workers. When she reported the horrible assault to her supervisors, she was told she could not seek medical treatment and was locked in a metal container while the company she worked for planned their next moves.
The worst part is that her company, a taxpayer-funded government contractor, had inserted language into Jones’ employment contract that said she could not take allegations of rape and sexual assault to court. Instead, her employer told her that she had to settle the matter in private, through arbitration. To me, that’s the equivalent of giving their employees the green light to commit rape and other acts of sexual violence.
As a woman, I’m horrified and disgusted. As an American, I’m disappointed that our tax dollars go to this government contractor that was able to get away with blatant disregard of their employee’s well-being.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Senate passed an Amendment to make sure taxpayer-funded government contractors cannot deny rape victims a day in court. For reasons only he knows, David Vitter voted against ensuring women have the right to seek justice.
Since David Vitter has not publicly stated why he is opposed to making sure women who are raped or sexually assaulted can pursue their attackers, we can only guess his motivations.
However, it is clear that Vitter regularly votes against the best interests of women.
David Vitter has voted to deny pregnant women the very crucial health care they need, endangering the lives of women and children.
David Vitter has voted to allow insurance companies to reduce life-saving breast cancer coverage, putting the profits of insurance companies ahead of people’s lives.
David Vitter even voted against a law that says women should get equal pay for equal work, harming American families in the process.
All this really leaves me wondering. What exactly is David Vitter’s problem with women?
Katrina L. Rogers
Women’s Caucus Chair
Young Democrats of Louisiana.
