Don’t look now! If you’re a proponent of gender equality when it comes to divorce and child custody matters, criminal arrest and sentencing matters, and availability of funding and resources for BOTH male and female victims of domestic violence, Governor Schwarzenegger is leading the charge with his signature on the latest budget for the state of California.
For full article and details: Schwarzenegger signs budget, makes major cuts to programs
Contained within the latest budget, Governor Schwarzenegger has ensured that the budget will treat both male and female victims of domestic violence equally by providing the same funding for each gender. He has cut 100% of the state’s funding for domestic violence shelters.
Assemblyman Anthony Adams, R-Claremont, said most of the cuts were necessary, but he said he’ll have a hard time swallowing the cut to domestic violence shelters. Schwarzenegger’s $16.3 million cut eliminates all state funding for the programs. Schwarzenegger’s $16.3 million cut eliminates all state funding for the programs.
While this isn’t necessarily what proponents of equal protection under the law had in mind when they debate and discuss the merits of providing for all victims of domestic violence equally when it comes to funding, resources, and all sorts of other means of government intervention – there is no question that in terms of funding, California is probably the first state in the nation to ensure that the funding of domestic violence shelters for victims is perfectly equal by setting it at $0.
The fallout over this story should be long and loud. Make sure you are able to filter out all of the rhetoric and completely false statistics that are sure to come at the public fast and furiously. Resources should be made available to all equally, but this situation, an unfortunate by-product of a horrible economy, doesn’t really do what we had hoped for all victims of domestic violence, be they men, women, or children.
