MICHIGAN FRIENDS -- IMMEDIATE ACTION NEEDED - The Senators and Representatuves in Lansing are voting today - possibly within the hour - on their states human trafficking bills. Sen Emmons allowed Prof Bridget Carr of the UM Human Trafficking Law Clinic to rework the bills so they now incorporate the victim-centered language that we wanted to see. The Senate version is truly a Safe Harbor legislation that treats a trafficking victim as a victim. (Trafficking is the only form of child abuse where the child gets arrested.) RIGHT NOW is the time to call your elected reps in Lansing and ask that they pass the SENATE version of these bills, Senate Bill 585 and Senate Bill 586. Heres an example of the difference: House version -- the presumption of victimization goes away if kids dont comply with court ordered services (BUT a traumatized kid is not typically compliant with authorities because they experience PTSD as a result of cruelty and abuse at the hands of previous authority figures in their lives -- a victims non-compliance is actually a symptom of victimization, not evidence to the contrary) Senate version: immunity and a route into protective custody as a victim through the child abuse and neglect process So call both your state level (not US) Senator and your state level Representative right now, today, and urge them to keep the original, committee passed version of Senate Bill 585. If you dont know who your legislator is or how to contact them, visit the following web sites; Find Your Senator - senate.michigan.gov/fysbyaddress.html Find Your Representative - house.mi.gov/mhrpublic/frmFindARep.aspx Simply enter your home address at each of these sites and the legislator that represents you will appear along with all their contact information.
Posted on: Wed, 12 Mar 2014 17:17:01 +0000