A petition that really works! Change the law to bring the WTS to its knees!

by Diest 29 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  Diest

  I know that most people on here dislike the idea of a petition, but I think I finally realized a petition that could really work. In the Candice Conti case she was allowed to start a civil lawsuit that was way past the statute of limitations. Why was that? Because California has changed the their civil statute of limitations in sexual abuse cases.

  So how do petitions come in? In some states there is a referendum process that allows citizens to add statutes or constitutional amendments by voting on these issues during the election. These referendums are put on the ballot by getting enough registered voters to sign the petition.

  I might be dreaming big, but if we got the statute of limitations changed in several states it would allow for many new lawsuits to be filed. Imagine how many more cases could be brought against the WTS by victims who right now have no recourse. With enough cases it is very possible to wipe out all the money that the WTS of NY has.

  There are 26 states in the US that allow for citizen based initiatives. The requirements can be difficult, but in the end they could be attainable. For instance in Colorado you would need 86k signatures to get an issue on the ballot. Obviously getting that many signatures would cost a bit of money, but this feat is accomplished several times every year.
• 

  trailerfitter

  Good luck `i'd sign but being in the UK I don't think they'd accept it in any state...
• 

  rebel8

  This sounds like a good idea.

  The difficulty, it appears, would be getting enough eligible voters in each state to sign each petition...but a good idea, and not impossible.
• 

  Diest

  Most referendums are passed with money. We would have to target a state that seemed to have the greatest need for a change and work at it. I am sure that Silent Lambs, or Barb Anderson would have a decent idea where the largest grouping of victims are. This is a very atainable goal for the users on JWN.

  Here is a map of states that allow initiatives.

  http://www.citizensincharge.org/states
• 

  Farkel

  : I might be dreaming big, but if we got the statute of limitations changed in several states it would allow for many new lawsuits to be filed. Imagine how many more cases could be brought against the WTS by victims who right now have no recourse.

  There's one sticky little problem. It's called "ex post facto." The US Constitution forbids it.

  Farkel
• 

  rebel8

  http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/14/us/sex-abuse-statutes-of-limitation-stir-battle.html?pagewanted=all
• 

  diamondiiz

  How about a petition regarding changing definition of charitable organizations? If an organization doesn't do anything charitable for the public good why should the public taxpayer lose out through paying higher taxes to cover costs of those who don't have to. That's where it would hurt the wts the most! If they can open the kitchen to the public, great. If they can go and build a home for needy, great. If they don't want to do anything to the benefit of the public why should they stay tax exempt. They shouldn't be called a charity when they're not one!

  With many western nations having huge deficit and debt problem, this may be one avenue that may make politicians rethink the definition of charities as to who should pay tax or whoshould be tax exempt.
• 

  Band on the Run

  I think it is a good idea. Many places may not need an iniative. We can lobby our state legislatures to change the statute of limitations for pedophile sexual abuse. It would not involve re-inventing the wheel, either. I am certain there are already groups in each state that are working towards this goal. Roman Catholic activists are one such group. It would make sense to join groups already in existence.

  The problem in the United States is having to do it on a state by state basis. Unitary government is nice, sometimes. Each house will have at least one committee dealing with criminal law. Besides your individual representative or senator, it is good to deal with the chair and ranking minority member. I would expect they would go on record with their position. It is an idea that is way overdue.

  Yes, there are evidentiary problems. Recent cases will probably be credible but a jury is capable of weighing the factors. Now that some states, obviously CA is one, that have extended the tolling of the statute, it is easy to use them as examples that work. I don't expect that pedophiles have a strong lobby. The votes are clearly with extending the statute.

  Iniatives (sp?) make sense when the chair or ranking member is blocking legislation from getting to the floor. NY had one powerful chair who went through a very bitter divorce. Nothing could past him in the way of reform. He suddenly died and women's rights grossly underestimated what they could achieve with him out of the picture. Sometimes the block is an important staff member.

  Larger states legislative agendas and personality may be widely reported. With the Internet, though, colleges and universities cover local politics.

  Letters to the editor build support, too. It helps to find out the name of the chief of staff and legislative aide.

  The drawback is that this takes work. One good step would be coming up with arguments for the criminal defense crowd. I assume that the states who extended the statute already has this debate. It is a lot easier to copy and paste than come up with fresh ideas.

  I would certainly sign such a petition. Frankly, though, I don't see a need for an initiative unless the legislature rejects it first.
• 

  irondork

  Diest, it sounds like nuth'n but a thing... but the truth is, a statewide initiative process is a monster to pull off.

  You quote the signature requirements for Colorado at 86,000. What you may not realize is that the target number of signatures would be about 125,000 (conservatively) so that you cover the invalid/unregistered signatures, at an operation cost of about $2.50 per signature. (It would be about $5.00 per signature in California. Unsure what the sig. requirement is in CA now. I have been out of it for about 12 years.)

  During the 20 years I spent disfellowshipped, one of my many career ventures was to help manage these signature gathering campaigns all over the country. By teaming up with Rick Arnold at National Voter Outreach in Carson City, David Morris with Voters Choice in Wash., D.C., we did several of these jobs. Most of my jobs were contracts with U.S. Term Limits, various communications initiatives and a handful of gambling initiatives.

  We failed on a couple of them even after the proponant dumped tons of money into the effort. Even bringing in professional signature gatherers was no gurantee of success.

  Bottom line is, it not just something you can throw together. Rick at NVO has a nice pamphlet that shows the steps and details for such an operation.

  Not trying to go wee-wee on your party, and I'm not saying it can't be done. Trust me, it CAN!

  But it's hard, hard, hard and it ain't cheap.
• 

  DT

  According to this thread the statute of limitations might not apply if there is fraud involved.

  http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/watchtower/scandals/226804/1/This-could-be-used-as-a-model-of-how-to-deal-with-the-Watchtower-religion

  I'm sure that most lawyers would rather handle simpler cases first, but there might be some hope for victims that are past the statute of limitations.