Appendices and footnotes for the May 2022 report

This page presents the footnotes and appendices for resolutions included in the Resolutions Committee’s report with final texts, published May 14, 2022.

Please note that this additional information was provided by the authors and primary sponsors of resolutions in order to provide background information regarding the topics of their resolutions. This material is not an integral part of the resolutions, nor does adoption of a resolution by the DPCA constitute endorsement of these claims or sources.

You can find footnotes and appendices for each resolution below, along with links to lists of co-sponsors.

Resolution Directing Democrats Abroad (DA) to include Veterans and Military Family Members under Representation Goals when electing delegates under future Delegate Selection Plans (DSPs)

List of co-sponsors: Co-sponsors for Resolution directing Democrats Abroad (DA) to Include Veterans and Military Family Members under Representation Goals when Electing Delegates under Future Delegate Selection Plans (DSPs)

Footnotes

¹  For purposes of this Resolution, a “military family member” is an individual who has a direct familial relationship with a past or present U.S. service-member who identifies as the individual’s biological/adopted/step parent/guardian, sibling, grandparent, aunt/uncle, cousin, spouse, in-laws, child(ren), grandchild(ren), step-family members, ex-spouse, and widow/widower. This broad definition by the DA Veterans and Military Families Caucus strives to be as inclusive rather than exclusive as possible, and is consistent with what defines a “military family member” as stated by the DNC Veterans and Military Families Council. Other definitions of what constitute a “military family” – such as government benefits eligibility – are highlighted on pages 11-12 in the following scholarly report:

Gribble, R., Mahar, A., Godfrey, K., Muir, S., Albright, D., Daraganova, G., Spinks, N., Fear, N. and Cramm, H. 2018, ‘What does the term ‘military family’ mean? A comparison across four countries’, Military Families Working Group, March, viewed on 8 May 2022, <https://cimvhr-cloud.ca/reports/Military-families-definitions.pdf>.

Furthermore, for purposes of this Resolution, a “veteran,” per 38 CFR 3.1(d), is “a person who served in the active military, naval, air, or space service and who was discharged or released under conditions other than dishonorable.”

²  “Representation goals” as defined here is intended to mirror the definition and description of the representation goals mentioned in the 2020 DA DSP (Section VII – Affirmative Action), viewable here: https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/democratsabroad/pages/19989/attachments/original/1576839215/COMPLIANT_DA_DSP_11.26.19_%281%29.pdf?1576839215.

³    Examples of barriers to voting faced by veterans and military families include, but are not limited to: the late arrival of overseas absentee ballots through no fault of the voter; the deportation of individuals who had voluntarily signed up with the military with the broken promise of gaining U.S. citizenship upon service; U.S. service-members from the District of Columbia or a U.S. Territory who have no voting representation in Congress, the inability to vote for service-members occupied in combat situations, civilian veterans abroad unable to utilize international postal services to the United States during the COVID-19 era, and denial of service-members’ opportunity to voice political and government opinions, among other issues.

⁴   On May 26, 2021, the Chairwoman of the DNC’s Veterans and Military Families Council, Jan Donatelli, informed the resolution author of her full support for Democrats Abroad including veterans and military families within its next and all future DSPs. Evidence of this communication is available upon request from any member of the Democratic Party.

Resolution to Keep the Pershing Hall Collection and the Time Capsule in France as part of its Cultural Patrimony and as a Memorial to American Veterans of World Wars I and II; and that its Oversight be transferred from the DVA to the ABMC

List of co-sponsors: Co-sponsors for Resolution to Keep the Pershing Hall Collection and the Time Capsule in France as part of its Cultural Patrimony and as a Memorial to American Veterans of World Wars I and II; and that its Oversight be Transferred from the DVA to the ABMC

Appendix

In 1928 the American Legion Building at 49 rue Pierre Charron, Paris 75008 France – known since as Pershing Hall – was purchased by the Legionnaires of Paris Post 1, acting as The American Legion Building Corporation, Inc., to serve as a monument and memorial to the World War I American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) commanded by General John J. Pershing.

When the project experienced financial difficulties in 1936, the U.S. Government took over the property as a permanent U.S. Memorial and, as stipulated in the property deed, assumed responsibility for its management and maintenance.

The building was the headquarters of the American Legion inaugural unit Paris Post 1; Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 605; and various French-American associations until all were evicted in 1993 and management was turned over to a realtor under the trusteeship of the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA). Historic artwork, furnishings, and documents were inventoried by the U.S. government, removed from the building, and sent to various locations for storage. After being abandoned at French national museums for almost three decades, a small portion of this rich heritage has recently been found.

In addition, memorials and plaques required to stay in Pershing Hall per the 99-year property lease have not been there for years. Also, during renovations in 2019, the historic Château Thierry stone and a time-capsule containing other historic documents and artifacts commemorating the inauguration of the building were extracted by the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) and are now in its custody.

Currently DVA proposes to reduce the memorial requirements in the lease and the entire collection of Pershing Hall artifacts now risks being taken out of the country, raising concern that veterans in France will lose valuable parts of their history and culture.

Resolution in support of Establishment of Democrats Abroad Global Gender-Based Violence Task Force

List of co-sponsors: Co-sponsors for Resolution in Support of Establishment of Democrats Abroad Global Gender-Based Violence Task Force

APPENDICES

EXAMPLES DESCRIBING THE RANGE/NATURE OF GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE

Domestic/Intimate Partner Violence

• Sexual

• Verbal

• Physical

• Economic

• Emotional

• Reproductive

• Religious

Rape,Sexual Assault, Stalking

• Intimate Partners

• Incest

• Drug-facilitated

• Multiple Perpetrators

• Children

• Conflict, refugee, immigrant

• Adult Supervisors

• Multiple, helping and professionals

• People in Authority (military, prison, school, workplace, etc.)

Harassment (unwanted behavior which you find offensive or which makes you feel intimidated or humiliated

• spoken/written words or abuse

• Offensive emails, tweets or comments on social networking sites

• Images and graffiti

• Physical gestures

• Facial expressions

• Jokes