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Support
Amendment
To the Editor:
On Nov. 8, Virginians can vote to protect children, deter crime and achieve justice. All they need to do is approve Constitutional Amendment #1 which will empower our legislature to make tough laws to hold child abusers accountable.
Look into the childhoods of our growing number of criminals and you will see how many of them, as children, were vicitims of the anger, frustration and violence of adults. It is a fact: the ravages of child abuse produce adults that are often dysfunctional and unproductive, even destructive. By decreasing child abuse in this nation, we will produce more productive, healthier and less violent adults. And that will decrease crime, the cost of “entitlements,” reduce the cost of health care, and certainly reduce our prison population.
While reducing child abuse will not cure all of our national ills, it is perhaps the one most significant step that we can take.
It is important to know what Amendment #1 is and is not. This change is consistent with the due process clause of the U,S. Constitution. Amendment #1 is not an “open door” to the courtroom for any claims for negligent acts, as opposed to intertional ones, and it will not allow additional claims against corporations, churches, clubs, etc. Amendment #1 only allows the statute of limitations to be changed for cases involving individuals who intertionally injure children.
I encourage you to support the ratification of Amendment #1 and to help educate the public regarding the importance of its ratification. Children are such easy and accessible victims—we must protect them.
SYLVIA CLUTE
Richmond
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