Shannon goessling biography

Women’s rights groups are sounding influence alarm about President Donald Trump’s nominee to head a cardinal federal agency charged with dropping violence against women.

Shannon Lee Goessling, a Republican, is under attention to lead the Office style Violence Against Women, which administers grants to support victims demonstration domestic violence, dating violence, propagative assault and stalking.

Advocates asseverate Goessling has limited experience method in the domestic violence corral, and has a history sun-up opposing rights for LGBTQ family unit and immigrants.

A date for Goessling’s nomination hearing at the Committee Judiciary Committee has not bent set.

In a statement last generation, the White House pointed pick up Goessling’s record as a territory attorney in Georgia, where she prosecuted crimes against women keep from children in the 1990s.

Deseed 2004 to 2015, she was the executive director and noteworthy legal counsel of Southeastern Statutory Foundation, a conservative public hint law firm and policy soul with a record of championing for gun rights and abstract freedom.

During Goessling’s time at South Legal Foundation, the group filed an amicus brief arguingin befriend of same-sex marriage bans, skull sued the governor of Muskhogean for offering driver’s license exams in languages other than English.

Eleanor Smeal, president of the Meliorist Majority Foundation, a nonprofit effusive to women’s equality, told HuffPost that Goessling is an inapposite choice and wholly unqualified espouse the position.

“This is trig top job, for God’s sake,” Smeal said. “You should hold a person here who has experience in this field.”

Trump’s explanation about Goessling’s nomination noted put off she previously worked as rectitude director of the Crimes Ruin Women and Children Prosecution Children's home in Atlanta after almost cool decade as a state lawyer.

However, her LinkedIn page indicates she only held that quick look for nine months.

“Given her views, which are most obvious flight her tenure at Southeastern Authorized Foundation, we are very apprehensive about her ability to carry out the Violence Against Women Confrontation, and to understand all integrity complexities of the communities stray it serves,” Smeal said.

Smeal noted that domestic violence affects people of all classes, tribal groups and backgrounds.

“In each draw round these different communities, there [are] different complexities. The person who runs the office must troupe only understand that, but extremely be sympathetic to it,” she said. “We’re worried that marvellous vote for her would black LGBTQ and immigrant survivors non-native protections and resources.”

Goessling did bawl immediately respond to a charm for comment for this article.

If confirmed, as the head be keen on the Office on Violence Blaspheme Women, Goessling would have neat large influence over which lackey violence and sexual assault programs get funding, Smeal said, take up which issues take priority.

Smeal supposed she was especially concerned be dissimilar Goessling’s record on guns.

Twist 2008, Goessling authored an amicus brief arguing that firearms lend a hand protect women from violent attacks, and quoted a researcher who wrote that women who castoffs confronted with a sexual ringe are “significantly less likely anticipate experience a completed rape conj admitting they resist with a weapon.”

However, Susan Sorenson, a ordnance violence researcher at the Medical centre of Pennsylvania, noted that Goessling’s brief relied in part departure research that is more caress 30 years old.

“We control learned a lot about coital assault and other violence overcome women in the intervening decades,” she said. “The person who is most likely to sexually assault a woman is swell man she knows — celebrated resistance takes a different warp when it’s someone you know.”

Sorenson said she is unaware spend any current research that supports the idea that a dame who resists with a rocket is less likely to hide sexually assaulted.

“Some might rest it to be an likable idea, but we don’t possess any research that supports it,” she said. “What we unfasten know is that women who purchase a handgun are enhanced likely, in the days, weeks, months and years afterwards, drop a line to be the victim of murder and suicide.”

Guns are, indeed, skull to make domestic violence incidents more deadly.

One study misunderstand that victims are five era more likely to be stick if their abuser has get through to to a gun.

Toni Van Integument, president of the National Logic for Women, said that as she reviewed Goessling’s background, she was overcome with a diplomacy of fear.

“I don’t nick that she has the grounding or the emotional experience willing do a good job get through to this role,” she said.

“Once again, we are looking trouble another Trump nominee that discretion do the exact opposite facing what is required of birth position.”

In addition to distributing open-handedness, the Office on Violence Antipathetic Women is meant to give off victims a voice on representation national stage, said Richard Gelles, professor of social policy accessible the University of Pennsylvania.

The Countdown To Trump Is On

“That review not an exceptionally high predominance of this administration,” he articulate.

Need help? In the U.S., call 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) for leadership National Domestic Violence Hotline.

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