My Activism

They say that no one is born an activist, life just has a way of tapping you for things.
These are the things life tapped me for:

ANIMAL RIGHTS
All my life I've had a house full of rescue pets, but I never imagined in a million years I'd be at the center of a huge court battle for pet's rights that made the front page of the L.A. times, Fox 11 News, and NPR. And all this fuss over my sweet little French Bulldog Stitch. For the whole story, see Save Stitch.




GUN VIOLENCE PREVENTION
My brother Christopher was just 7 years old when he was shot in the head by a neighborhood teenage boy (an Adam Lanza- type). I held my baby brother with a bullet in his head on the way to the hospital. You can't ever shake that image. Ever. Newtown brought it all flooding back. I now have 3 kids, the youngest is a 7 year old boy. I won't rest until safer gun laws are in place. I work in the field of gun violence prevention. I am on the Speaker's Bureau for Women Against Gun Violence. More info and to book me for speaking engagements: www.wagv.org
My story is here: The Feminist Wire/Hollye Dexter



E Q U A L I T Y
I have four brothers. Two of them are gay. My best friends are gay, married and have kids. I want them to have the exact same rights as I do, so I'll show up and be unruly as needed. 





FOSTER KIDS
My high school sweetheart Vince Waters was a great guy. Kind, sweet, funny, smart, well liked, and suffering the psychological trauma from being abused in group foster homes. He died at 29 years old. I founded a nonprofit, Art and Soul Programs, working with teens in foster care, teaching them how to express their emotions through art, music, poetry and film.  Art and Soul was awarded by L.A. County Supervisor Michael Antonovich, and also by Agape International and A Season For Nonviolence for our work with at-risk youth. We were also nominated for "Best Nonprofit Organization" by the the San Fernando Valley Business Association.

3 comments:

  1. Hello Hollye, I'm David and i'd like to know more about your point of view about the gun law thing, what exactly would you like to see happening? Are you aiming for a total ban of guns or just more strict laws as in who's allowed to own a gun? (For example, convicted felons not being allowed to own a gun due to their bad reputation etc..)
    I'm just curious since especially lately it has been a very common discussion.. Even in Europe (where i reside)
    Greetings,
    David

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  2. Hi David,
    Moms Demand Action is not anti-gun, but pro-gun safety. We want background checks on all gun purchases, a ban on military-style assault weapons and ammunition clips of over 10 rounds, tougher penalties for illegal gun sales, and to push through laws which require new technology on guns to make them safer ( to avoid accidental deaths and some suicides). In a perfect world, America would be a gun-free society like England or Japan, but as this country was founded on a gun culture, it isn't realistic.

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  3. Holy Crap Hollye!

    When do you sleep? That's a handful of activism on top of your writing, etc. Thank God there are people like you doing something about the gun situation in the USA.

    You're making a big difference in the world. Thanks.

    Wanda

    ReplyDelete

I love hearing your point of view- thank you for taking the time to comment and be part of the conversation!
love,
Hollye