First of all, we all start with the proposition that we want victims to have rights and Congress and the State legislatures should act to provide those rights. I do not think there is a lot of dispute about that issue. The question that is before us in this constitutional amendment is whether or not the way to achieve that goal is through an amendment to our basic document. I believe it is fundamentally wrong to amend the Constitution for a number of reasons. First, the desired goals can be achieved by statute.
Every State has a constitutional amendment or a statute which protects victims' rights.
I do not believe there is one statute or one constitutional amendment in any State protecting victims' rights that has been held to be unconstitutional. One of the complaints seems to be that State statutes and State constitutional provisions are not being enforced adequately. Take, for example, a story that Marlene Young, executive director of the National Organization for Victim Assistance, brought to the attention of the House Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on the Constitution in February. I was sexually battered here in Sumter County. I chose to press charges.