"Ask not what your country can do for you ... ask what you can do for your country"     (J. F. Kennedy in his inaugural address, 1960)

Jan and Rog McQuaid ask you to please become a volunteer for State Crime Victimhood. You can volunteer by inserting our State Victims' Rights Petition in your volunteering plan. Alternately we request that you submit your individual E-mail or letter to your state House and Senate Legislators with your support of our petition.

Mission: Each can support State Victims' Rights enhancements where their state is asked to adapt the three page federal 18 U.S.C. § 3771, signed into law in 2004, as a guideline bill.

The State Crime Victims' Rights Petition introduction and script are as follows:

"Although the overall treatment of crime victims has seen vast improvements, problems remain in enforcing victims' laws. The statutes often lack procedures for administration and execution of the rights and services they provide. Many jurisdictions also have no remedies available to victims, leaving them without legal recourse. Please sign below to empower the legislature.

"We, the undersigned, ask our state legislature to enact meaningful and enforceable rights for victims consistent with the provisions of 18 U.S.C. §3771, the Federal Crime Victims' Rights Act signed in 2004. Moreover, we ask that the Legislature support amending the state constitution so these rights become embedded in the fundamental law of our state."

Petition Action - print Rog's State Crime Victims' Rights Petition signing sheet and get friends and neighbors and others to sign it.

Please use our petition today to let state legislators know that you want state crime victims' rights at least as good as federal crime victims' rights. Help Jan and Rog get 100,000* or more voters agreeing that enhanced victimhood rules are needed.

After you get 100 voter signatures*, please use Ordering web page and associated Ordering Form; enter your "contact information" and "library information"; and print Ordering Form. Then send the voter signatures to Jan McQuaid, PO Box 101112 Pittsburgh, PA 15237.

To date, petitions initiated legislation in Pennsylvania, HB910, HB2095 and SB990, and in West Virginia, HB3268, HB4296 (signed) and SB694.

Comparison:  As an example of state code (WV) compared with federal code (18 U.S.C. §3771 where only sub section (a) Victims' Bill of Rights applies), see twelve page WV-Vic-Code-to-Fed-VBOR. It portrays missing rights for each set of crime victims. Yet we found: the federal code sub sections (b) to (f) have no equal; therefore, no state remedies for victims' rights denial. The federal case in early 1800s of Marlbury v. Madison set a precedent that 'A right without a remedy is not a right at all'.

NOTE: The National Center for Victims' of Crime document "ENFORCING THE RIGHTS OF CRIME VICTIMS" portrays some states' activities. It also defines merits of Legal Standing: Legal Standing would give victims the right to ask the court to rule on an issue of victims rights. Without Legal Standing to enforce rights, there is no effective means for a victim to assert his or her rights during the criminal justice process, when time is often of the essence. Consider contacting your US Congress-persons.

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* Petitions signing sheets with 100 voter signatures or more qualifies the volunteer to have Jan's book given in volunteer's name to a public library or school library. Although Jan and Rog limit their donation offer for 1000 of Jan's books, you can alternately sponsor Jan's book donated to your library. See "Library Gift Options" on Ordering web page.

 

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