[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 16264-16265]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  IN COMMEMORATION OF THE NATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR WOMEN ON ITS 40TH 
                              ANNIVERSARY

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. CAROLYN B. MALONEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 27, 2006

  Mrs. MALONEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the 40th 
anniversary of the founding of the National Organization for Women 
(NOW), our Nation's paramount champion of women's rights.
  The National Organization for Women has been a pioneer in the fight 
for women's equality and is one of our Nation's foremost institutions 
for social justice and social change. For the past 40 years, NOW has 
been at the forefront of every major effort to advance women's rights 
and promote equality between the sexes.
  The National Organization for Women was founded in 1966 with the $5 
contributions of 28 women. These women came together in recognition of 
the need to bring women into equal partnership with men as part of a 
world-wide human rights movement. In the last 40 years, NOW has 
expanded this vision to local and campus chapters in all 50 states and 
the District of Columbia and grown its membership to roughly 500,000.
  As the largest feminist organization in the United States, NOW's 
continued success is due to its leaders' commitment to innovative and 
diverse avenues of activism. From local rallies and mass marches to 
political lobbying and Supreme Court battles, NOW works to achieve 
advancement for women. Its current primary concerns are promoting 
passage of the Equal Rights Amendment, eradication of violence against 
women, championing reproductive freedom and other women's health 
issues, opposition to racism and bigotry against lesbians and gays and 
advocating for economic and educational equality.
  Since 1967, NOW has dedicated itself to passage of the Equal Rights 
Amendment. The organization tirelessly led efforts to lobby Congress 
for the amendment's passage until both Houses ratified the ERA in 1971. 
NOW then led the campaign for ratification in the states and fought for 
the extension of the amendment's deadline.
  Since 1969, NOW has brought lawsuits to our Nation's courts to fight 
sex discrimination in the workplace. In one of the first cases to apply 
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act to a sex discrimination case, NOW won 
women access to positions previously denied to them because of biased 
and unnecessary strength tests.
  Recognizing that economic security means little to women who are not 
secure in their homes, NOW pioneered the founding of battered women's 
shelters and rape crisis centers. By organizing the first Take Back the 
Night rallies, NOW activists provided women with a platform to confront 
threats of violence and empowered them to speak out against their 
offenders. In 1994, NOW's efforts to end women's victimization 
culminated in the passage of the Violence Against Women Act.
  Since its founding, NOW has led the battle for women's reproductive 
freedom. NOW was

[[Page 16265]]

the first national organization to call for the legalization of 
abortion and has committed itself to safeguarding the right to choose 
secured by Roe v. Wade. For 20 years NOW fought to use federal anti-
racketeering laws to protect abortion clinics and their clients from 
harassment by militant anti-abortionists. In 2004, NOW cosponsored the 
March for Women's Lives to demonstrate Americans unequivocal support 
for women's reproductive rights. The march drew 1.15 million people to 
Washington, D.C. for the largest civil rights demonstration in U.S. 
history.
  NOW was an early and vocal supporter of lesbian rights. NOW activists 
supported the rights of lesbians and their families in Belmont v. 
Belmont, the landmark case that awarded a lesbian mother custody of her 
children. Rosemary Dempsey, the defendant, later served as NOW's Vice 
President of Action. ill 1975, lesbian rights became one of NOW's 
priority issues and has since been the theme of two of its national 
conferences.
  Opposed to bigotry and discrimination of all kinds, NOW has also been 
a champion and defender of affirmative action policies. In 1996, 50,000 
activists gathered in San Francisco in defense of affirmative action 
for NOW's March to Fight the Right. NOW has also adopted a hiring 
policy that reflects its dedication to diversity and commitment to 
eradicating racial disparities in the work place.
  Today, NOW's President, Kim Gandy, follows in the footsteps of the 
organization's inaugural president, the late Betty Friedan. Under Ms. 
Gandy's leadership, NOW remains committed to the passage of the Equal 
Rights Amendment and has risen to the unique challenges of our time. 
Advocating for pay equity, affordable quality daycare, women-friendly 
workplaces, and a fair minimum wage, NOW, with unfaltering 
determination, continues to lead our country on the march towards 
women's equality.
  Mr. Speaker, as the National Organization for Women celebrates 40 
years as our country's preeminent voice for the advancement of women, I 
ask that my distinguished colleagues join me in recognizing the 
essential role that NOW has played in leading efforts to create 
positive social and political change.

                          ____________________