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Elayne
Weiss
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05/17/2012
Women in the Military

Combat Exclusion for Women Should No Longer Be the Rule

By Tiseme Zegeye, ACLU Women's Rights Project & Elayne Weiss, Washington Legislative Office at 9:53am

The combat exclusion rule ignores the reality of modern warfare. Women are already serving in combat, and at present, 139 women have made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.

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12/09/2011

Combating Gender Discrimination on the Battlefield

By Elayne Weiss, Washington Legislative Office at 12:41pm

For as long as she can remember, my Aunt Robyn always knew she wanted to join the Army. She would follow anyone who happened to be wearing a uniform. In 1981, Robyn finally got to put on her own uniform when she enlisted at the age of 18, straight out of high school, and became a Private E-1.

Although the Army had integrated basic training for men and women some years prior to Robyn joining up, she always felt that commanders were scrutinizing the women to see what they could handle when compared to their male counterparts. To prove themselves, she and her fellow females had to work harder.

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03/15/2013
Women in the Military

Truly Dishonorable: Military Justice System Betrays Survivors of Sexual Assault

By Elayne Weiss, Washington Legislative Office at 4:49pm

Rebekah Havrilla, a former Army sergeant, received no justice after she was raped by a fellow soldier while serving in Afghanistan.

On Wednesday, Rebekah testified before the Senate Armed Services Personnel Subcommittee at a hearing on military sexual assault, recounting her traumatic and downright appalling time serving in a command culture that tolerated sexual assault and harassment. Her subsequent experience with the military justice system re-traumatized her after she decided to come forward and report her rapist.

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04/26/2013
Women in the Military

MARCH Onward for our Military Women!

By Vania Leveille, Washington Legislative Office & Elayne Weiss, Washington Legislative Office at 3:01pm

Enactment of last year's National Defense Authorization Act brought about a long overdue and welcome change on the military health care front by allowing military women and dependents to receive insurance coverage for abortion in cases of rape or incest. But the work to ensure that servicewomen's reproductive health needs are met is not nearly complete.

That's why we applaud the introduction in the Senate of the Military Access to Reproductive Care and Health (MARCH) for Military Women Act. Sponsored by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and 14 other stalwart supporters of our military women and families, the bill would allow servicewomen to use their own private funds to access abortion care on military treatment facilities. Earlier in the month, Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.) introduced a House companion bill, cosponsored by 40 representatives.

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04/25/2013
Abortion Legislation

It's Time to Extend Abortion Coverage to the Women of Peace Corps

By Elayne Weiss, Washington Legislative Office at 12:41pm

When John F. Kennedy signed the executive order creating the Peace Corps over fifty years ago, he said, "Life in the Peace Corps will not be easy. There will be no salary, and allowances will be at a level sufficient only to maintain health and meet basic needs." It's true that life in the Peace Corps isn't easy, but unfortunately, our government is failing to live up to the rest of this promise when it comes to providing for the reproductive health needs of Peace Corps volunteers, who selflessly give their time and energy to help communities in developing countries.

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05/10/2011

New Regulation Proposes Government-Funding of Religion

By Elayne Weiss, Washington Legislative Office at 5:27pm

Did you know your federal tax dollars could soon be used to help construct, acquire or rebuild houses of worship overseas? The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the government agency primarily responsible for distributing foreign aid, has proposed a new rule that, if adopted, would allow federal funds to do just that.

Of course this deeply flawed proposal is unconstitutional, as the Supreme Court has consistently ruled that the First Amendment's Establishment Clause prohibits the federal government from using tax dollars to construct or maintain buildings devoted to religious instruction or worship.

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05/24/2012
Women in the Military

The Best Way to Honor Servicewomen This Memorial Day

By Francesca Acocella, Women's Rights Project & Elayne Weiss, Washington Legislative Office at 3:15pm

This Memorial Day, we can show the women serving in the military how grateful we are for their brave service by giving them the same opportunities to serve, and the same recognition of their service, as men. This month, the Army and the Marine Corps began to implement changes to the so-called combat exclusion rule, an outdated policy that bars women from being assigned to ground combat units, irrespective of their talents and abilities. Under modifications to the combat exclusion rule announced by the Department of Defense (DoD) earlier this year, women will now be permitted to serve in certain previously male-only positions at the battalion level and in positions that are located with, and support, combat units.

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11/22/2011
Housing Discrimination

Victims of Domestic Abuse Deserve Protection, Not an Eviction Notice

By Elayne Weiss, Washington Legislative Office & Sandra S. Park, ACLU Women's Rights Project at 2:08pm

Imagine coming home to find that you are being evicted from your apartment. But it’s not because you haven’t paid rent; it’s because you are a victim of domestic violence. That’s exactly what happened to ACLU client Tanica Lewis.

In 2006, Tanica and her two daughters were kicked out of their apartment, after her ex-boyfriend violated a protective order and broke into Tanica’s apartment by smashing her windows and kicking in the door. A few days later, Tanica was told she had to vacate the premises because she failed to properly supervise her “guest.” Tanica and her daughters were forced to move into another apartment, but at a higher rent and farther from Tanica’s job.

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07/18/2011
Religious Discrimination

Obama Administration Can't Make the Case for Religious Discrimination

By Dena Sher, ACLU Washington Legislative Office & Elayne Weiss, Washington Legislative Office at 4:38pm

What a disappointing, and frankly lame, response. Last month, the ACLU, along with more than 50 organizations, sent a letter to President Obama urging him to end taxpayer-funded hiring discrimination based on religion in government contracts. President George W. Bush had rolled back this civil rights protection, which was first established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, in 1941. President Obama promised to change this policy, but so far nothing. Thus, the coalition wrote to the president to again ask him to restore the civil rights protection.

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03/18/2011

A Perfect Time for Abstinence-Only Programs to get the Old Heave-Ho

By Elayne Weiss, Washington Legislative Office at 1:22pm

Over the last several weeks, we’ve heard quite a bit of heated rhetoric about federal spending, including misguided and ill-advised calls to defund Planned Parenthood and the Title X Family Planning Program. But finally there was a breath of fresh air on Tuesday when Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) and Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) introduced a bill to end taxpayer-funded abstinence-only-until-marriage programs.

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