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COMMENTARY
Massachusetts SOL
Reform: This hasn’t
passed yet?
A report from Steve Krueger, VOTF Boston, MA
Never doubt that a small group
of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the
world. Indeed it is the only
thing that ever has. Margaret Mead
In March of this year I contacted the editor of a
major newspaper in Massachusetts to discuss legislation
that the Coalition to Reform Sex Abuse Laws in Massachusetts
(CTRSAL), www.stopsexcrime.org, was supporting to repeal
the statute of limitations for criminal prosecution
and for civil actions for cases of childhood sexual
abuse. We hoped that he would support this legislation
and that he would editorialize in favor of it as part
of a campaign at the time Judiciary hearings were being
held. To my astonishment he said to me, “What … this
hasn’t passed yet?” This was a prophetic
refrain that has echoed now for months, if not years,
in the public square, a refrain that helped keep advocates
for this legislation to press on, even when this legislation
was by all accounts, “dead”.
Yet, it is expected that by the time you receive In
the Vineyard, or within the next week, Governor Mitt
Romney of Massachusetts will sign into law House Bill
H5234, legislation that extends the statute of limitations
(SOL) for criminal prosecution of crimes of rape and
some crimes of sexual assault of children from 15 to
27 years; in cases where there is corroborating evidence,
H5234 eliminates the SOL and tightens laws regarding
the Massachusetts sexual offender registry.
The passage of this legislation was spearheaded by
the Coalition to Reform Sex Abuse Laws in Massachusetts
under the leadership of Bonnie Gorman and Susan Renehan.
VOTF is a member of the Coalition and it had the support
of many VOTF members as well as the VOTF national office,
along with victims and survivors and advocates from
all walks of life. While this legislation does not
go far enough towards creating a zero-tolerance environment
it is a “legislative victory” and is significant
because it can be built upon not only in Massachusetts
but also nationally.
There were several lessons learned from this shared
victory. While most of us are actively involved in
our parishes, most of us have not been actively involved
in passing legislation. Yet we find ourselves in the
position of advocates for victims and survivors; we
know that working on this issue is consistent with
the rich tradition of Catholic social justice teaching
in the public sphere.
In the past four years, CTRSAL had sponsored legislation
that had died in “study committee.” The
testimony at the hearings in March 2006 was overwhelmingly
in favor of the legislation as written –repeal
of both the criminal and civil SOL. It appeared that
the legislation would be released to the full legislature
where we had received written support from a majority
of legislators in both the House and Senate. Passage
of the bills seemed within reach.
However, by the middle of May it became apparent
that the legislation lacked the support of key legislative
leaders. As we regrouped one Saturday in mid-May
we pondered what we could do before the legislative
session ended on June 30th. How many more times could
we ask our supporters to come to another rally or
send another email or letter to their legislator?
How many more times would the media continue to cover
our activities?
Facing defeat at that point, we cautiously decided
to redouble our efforts and take a “campaign
approach,” an approach that would require us
to raise over $25,000 in a few weeks. If we were going
to fail, we were going to “fail forward.” We
developed a three- pronged campaign strategy that included
grassroots activism, a public relations campaign, and,
to establish a professional presence “inside
the building,” hiring a lobbyist.
On June 30th a bill was released by the Judiciary
Committee that would extend the SOL by 12 years in
cases of criminal prosecution. The Massachusetts Catholic
Conference, changing its position, and now came out
in favor of the legislation. It did so only because
the repeal of the SOL for civil actions had been taken
out of the bill. Over the summer months, the bill was
further amended and strengthened, and will become law
this week. One of our most ardent supporters and an
expert on Massachusetts politics, Thomas P. O’Neill
III, told us that we had “moved a mountain.”
While the passage of legislation that eliminates the
SOL for crimes of sexual abuse of children will be
significantly affected by factors unique to each state,
what follows are some lessons that I believe can be
generally applied to the activities for these efforts
in all states.
Lesson 1: Keep the focus on the broader
issue.
The American Medical Association has called the sexual
abuse of children the “violent, silent epidemic,” and
a recent study by the US Center for Disease Control
and Prevention has concluded that 1 in 4 girls and
1 in 6 boys are sexually abused – in some way – by
the time they are 18 years of age. In the final months,
the campaign focused on this statistic by applying
it to the Massachusetts population, which conservatively
yields the astounding number of approximately 50
children per day.
Working within the Coalition provided VOTF members
the opportunity to work for the broader issue of zero
tolerance in our society and not just in the Catholic
Church. Politically this was important in Massachusetts
so that the legislation was not perceived as being “against” the
Catholic Church.
Lesson 2: Build, or join, a Coalition.
CTRSAL put itself in a position to win by forming a
broad-based, state-wide coalition. A base of support
naturally exists in public and private child care
social service agencies. Leveraging this, the Coalition
was able to identify constituent advocates in every
legislative district in the state. These members
spearheaded at least one meeting with each and every
legislator and also identified media contacts. Additionally,
the Coalition was able to galvanize key support from
such groups as the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police
Association who helped the cause by contacting legislators,
at our request, in support of the legislation in
the final days of the legislative session.
Additionally, the Coalition implemented an online
lobbying tool that allowed supporters to send an instant
email to their legislator through the Coalitions’ web
site. This also helped build an email list of supporters
throughout the state.
Lesson 3: Educate, educate, educate – yourself,
your legislators and the media.
The issues involved are complex and each of us can
make a difference by talking to others about this issue
so we might be informed. The Coalition had engaged
a broad range of experts and victims and survivors
to establish a base of expertise on the issues.
The legislative process is complex and can be treacherous,
if not inaccessible to the uninformed. It is important
to base our efforts on the fundamentals of political
activism. For the final campaign, we sought advice
from several seasoned political consultants, as well
as supportive legislators, all of whom made a contribution
in developing our strategy for the final month.
Over a four-year period there were hundreds of meetings
with legislators to educate them on the issues and
win their support. Members of the Coalition met with
every legislator. This was the essential groundwork
that put us in a position to win.
When something happens that is newsworthy, the media
is writing under deadline. For us to have our side
of the story in the media we need to be educating them
beforehand by developing those relationships and keeping
them abreast of the issues, even when there is not
any news. In the final weeks of the campaign we had
to redouble our efforts to combat misinformation put
out by our opponents.
Misinformation is one of the primary tactics employed
by an opponent on issues in the court of public opinion.
Because truth is our strongest ally against misinformation,
education is essential to our success. “Why hasn’t
this passed yet?” There is no legitimate answer
to that question.
Lesson 4: Conduct campaigns – both
in the public square and inside your State House.
In strategizing our actions for the final month we
adopted a multi-track strategy. To make the impact
we needed we recognized that we would have to raise
money for a public relations campaign and hire a lobbyist.
All of this was predicated on the fact that we knew
we had broad-based public and legislative support and
we needed to create an environment where legislative
leadership would be in a position to release the bills
for a democratic vote by the legislature.
The lobbyist gave us an ongoing presence inside the
State House and was invaluable for providing intelligence,
helping define the parameters of our actions, and on
keeping the issue in the minds of legislators during
the frenetic end of a legislative session.
The public relations campaign sought to increase public
awareness one more time in a manner that demonstrated
our strength. This culminated in a radio ad campaign,
which you can hear at the website.
On at least three occasions when we contacted a journalist
they told us they had heard the ads. More important,
legislators began to view us through a different lens
after we retained one of the top lobbying firms in
the Commonwealth. Together these efforts along with
grassroots actions had the effect of giving our voice
more gravitas both in the State House and in the public
square. Ultimately we believe it was pivotal to the
success we had.
Lesson 5: Stay the course – keep advocating.
Just as our own work in reforming the Church calls
us to take the long view for bringing about the transformative
change we seek, the somber conclusion is that we
will we need to take the same view to bring about
a “zero-tolerance” policy for the sexual
abuse of children across the country.
Here in Massachusetts our work is not done. As so
many of you know, it is the repeal of the civil statute
of limitations that will have the greatest impact in
protecting children, providing justice for victims
and survivors, and creating institutional accountability.
In the past four years we have had our eyes opened
to the governance structures in the Church with great
dismay. At the same time we are now having our eyes
opened to the legislative process of our state governments
and it is proving to be at least sobering for the uninitiated.
As a goal of the Campaign for Accountability we must
be seeking to learn from one another and accept the
realities of becoming political activists as well as
Church reformers. While this is a role that few of
us may have envisioned as VOTF was emerging, we can
take consolation in knowing that we are carrying on
the rich tradition of Catholic social justice teaching
and making the world a safer place for children and
greater justice for victims and survivors.
Congratulations to all those who worked so hard, for
so long on this and other legislation and throughout
the country. You are making a difference!
[Steve can be reached at sak_votf@hotmail.com for
more information on the passing of H5234.]
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