by Helen Gerhardt
But there are plenty of women, men, and children who are still alive in our city who will face domestic violence. If there is a gun in the house, then the possibility of their murder will increase three-fold.
These still-living Pittsburghers deserve full attention to their concerns and their safety from their elected officials and staff, over and above political battles during election time, no matter how well justified the mudslinging seems to be. Yesterday, the legislation intended to address inconsistent application of "zero tolerance" of domestic violence by City employees was not properly introduced to facilitate fair and aboveboard community engagement and full discussion by Council members. My own position is that full airing of those circumstances would be in the public interest. The reactions on both sides could well help damage progress on well-crafted domestic violence legislation which is far more crucial to potential victims of violence than the political fortunes or future employment of the men and women who have a responsibility to work together on this matter right here, right now.
Glad the Council voted on further deliberation. It feels to me like everyone in town is prepared to back off, take a breath, come together and rise above on this one. Thank you for marking the moment, Helen.
ReplyDeleteIf a couple thugs come banging thru you door whaddya wanna have a gun in your hand or a cell phone
ReplyDeleteThugs banging on your door? :/ What if its your BF and he's in the kitchen?
DeleteAnd what if your abusive significant other in the kitchen is a cop. It was the rules about that situation that some tried to surreptitiously strike out from the law passed in 2007.
ReplyDeleteand a bunch of people got stabbed by homeless man. There was a shooting under the bridge when a homeless man sold drugs in a bad deal. when can we expect some criticism of the people who don't do anything about homeless people roaming about?
ReplyDeleteWorth reading. Joanne Tosti-Vasey's blog
ReplyDelete