I woke up this morning and read out about a bill before the legislature of our great state of Texas (HB 3958)
and found the biggest joke I’ve seen yet. It is a bill to create a data base of offenders who have been
charged with family violence three or more times.
Now, what actual good does that do the women who are suffering through the abuse perpetrated by her
spouse? NONE! What good does it really do anyone? Not much. Best case scenario, a woman who
actually knows about this data base, checks it, finds the guy who just asked her out listed there and never
goes out with him in the first place. This can be done without asking him about it and allowing him to make
up some excuse to cover what he did or causing him to react violently against her. Of course at that point,
if he’s already seriously attracted to her it may be too late and he may become a threat to her anyway. But
then I guess the cops can check the data base when she calls them after receiving threats, or him hitting
her in anger over being rejected, and they will know he has a record for domestic violence. However, that
doesn’t mean the cop can lock the guy up for any real length of time, keeping her safe, anymore than they
were able to lock him up to protect the wife or girlfriend he beat repeatedly before.
Do you think a data base like this would have saved Nicole Simpson? Do you think it would have saved
Bonnie Woodring of North Carolina from her husband who, while already wanted on domestic violence
charges walked into a shelter for battered women and shot her dead? Do you think it would have saved
Yvette Cade of Maryland who was doused with gasoline and set on fire by her husband in front of
witnesses while she was at work after Judge Palumbo removed her restraining order because he didn’t see
the need to continue it? I don’t.
Now let’s discuss the part of that bill that says this data base only covers those offenders who had an
‘affirmative finding of family violence’ in court. What if the case was seen by someone like Judge Palumbo
and doesn’t receive the affirmative finding necessary for it to qualify? Then the man doesn’t even make it
to the data base.
This bill was written, as far as I can tell, to placate the victims of domestic violence. I disagree totally with
the words of Rep. Joaquin Castro’s (San Antonio) comment which was “Family violence has a long history
in the shadows. HB 3958 sends a message that our society acknowledges the prevalence and severity of
these crimes and that we will no longer tolerate this abuse in our communities.”
How does it send the message of "No Tolerance"? That all we will do is let the communities know what they
have done. Not that they will be severely punished for their crimes. Not that we will help the wives or
girlfriends get away from them and find a new life. Only that others will know, if they are even aware of the
database and if they bother to look up. What kind of message is that?
In the State of Texas domestic violence is treated as no more serious offense than simple assault, which is
no more than a Class C misdemeanor on the first offense and carries a penalty of no more than a $500
dollar fine. After subsequent offenses it can be charged as a Class A misdemeanor which carries no more
than a $4000 fine and no more than a year in jail, or both. This, in my opinion, is far from adequate
punishment, and offers neither effective deterrent for the crime, nor the opportunity for the abused to
remove themselves from the dangerous circumstance.
In 2005, there were 187,000 incidents of domestic violence reported in the state of Texas. Keep in mind
these are only the ones reported and this crime is considered to be the most underreported one in the
United States, possibly touching as many as one out of every three women in this country. 143 women
died in this state at the hands of their abusers. Those deaths could have been avoided if the law protected
them from constant abuse by locking the perpetrators up before it got to this point. Restraining orders
rarely help in these cases, as the police and the victims are very aware. Police officers themselves face
danger to their lives as well when they are answering domestic violence calls as emotions are high and
people are often completely out of control. The women as well, are liable to defend their abusive spouse
out of fear of retribution later on.
On another note, you may not be aware that if someone commits an act of cruelty against an animal, that is
considered a state jail felony which results with a sentence of no more than 2 years and no less than 180
days, with the possible addition of a fine up to $10,000. On a subsequent offense this crime becomes a
third degree felony carrying a prison sentence of two to ten years, with the possible addition of a $10,000
fine.
How does that make you feel, to know that the law of Texas considers it more serious to harm an animal
than it does for a man to beat his wife? I love animals very much yet still find that offensive and hope many
of you will too.
This needs to change, and I don’t mean by lessening the punishment for animal cruelty. I mean by making
the abuse of a spouse a felony with a stiffer punishment, at least the equivalent to that of animal cruelty.
And this lame attempt by Rep. Castro to placate the victims of family violence and their friends, family, and
advocates should be seen as just that. We should ask for so much more from them than simply making the
perpetrators known to those who seek out the information, and we should get it.
 | |  | |  | |  |
| RE: State of Texas House Bill 3958 |
| Melissa Hill May 2007 |