Last night, I reached out to every major Democratic candidate who has not openly, transparently and urgently supported reauthorization of The Violence Against Women Act. Just one candidate has responded so far: Andrew Yang.

A staffer has promised to bring my request to their policy team.

Will you follow my lead and demand the Democratic candidates for president clarify their stance on The Violence Against Women Act for the Americna people? 

Here's what I said: 

To Andrew Yang and team, 

My name is Jessica Kovac. Over a year ago, I started a petition on Change.org during the Brett Kavanaugh hearings. I, like most women across the country, stood proudly with Christine Blasey Ford as she bravely performed her civic duty and testified about her rape. The bravery it takes to speak openly about the abuse you have endured is something I know from experience. I am a survivor of sexual assault. Being a survivor made Christine Blasey Ford's actions even more honorable in my eyes. 

However, I am not writing this message because of the Brett Kavanaugh hearings. I am not writing this message to ask what your team is going to do to counteract a culture that allows a Supreme Court Justice who is a sexual predator to sit on the court. That topic has been exhaustively discussed, and I am grateful. 

I am here to discuss my petition. When the hearings were taking place, another huge blow to women occurred that got buried in the news cycle. The Violence Against Women Act failed to get reauthorized. When I saw this news, I was shocked it was not on the front page of every magazine and every newspaper. Here, in arguably one of the most important times in history for women, Congress had just stalled funding for landmark legislation protecting survivors of sexual assault -- and nobody had anything to say about it. Our leaders had plenty to say about Christine Blasey Ford's bravery. Our leaders had plenty of outrage to share about Brett Kavanaugh. Yet when it came to the legislation -- the policy -- the PLANS -- that are supposed to save us -- that had just been crushed by Congress, our leaders were silent. 

And so they have stayed silent for over a year as this landmark legislation has failed to get funded. The consequences? Organizations that dedicate their lives to protecting abuse survivors are strapped for cash. They can't provide the services that men, women, the LGBTQ community, and immigrant victims so desperately need because Congress refuses to make this a priority. 

Our leaders have plenty to say about gun control. In fact, it's arguably the primary topic up for the 2020 reelection. The Violence Against Women Act reauthorization addresses gun control head-on. A history of domestic violence is directly correlated to mass shootings. Some of our leaders have vaguely addressed this without directing it back to the policy. The policy, is the Boyfriend Loophole, a policy under the Violence Against Women Act which would get guns out of the hands of ex-boyfriends and stalkers. Andrew Yang indirectly acknowledges the benefits of the boyfriend loophole on his website, saying no domestic abuser would be allowed to hold a license, however he neglects to clarify how/if the Violence Against Women Act fits in. 

We deserve transparency and accountability from all of our leaders. It is the only way I believe a Democrat can win in 2020. Will Andrew Yang agree to clarify his stance on the Violence Against Women Act? 

My petition is attached below. It has garnered over 60,000 signatures. This is clearly an issue that voters care about. It needs to be addressed by all 2020 candidates with the urgency it deserves. 

2020 is going to be a historic election. We must demand transparency and accountability from all of our candidates.

Simply tweeting support for the VAWA is not enough.

Simply listing support for the reauthorization of the VAWA is not enough.

Simply stating support for domestic violence victims in a Youtube video is not enough.

Advocating to close the boyfriend loophole is also, not enough.

We need all of this and more. We need the candidate to not only support reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, but demand it -- publicly on the debate stage and in town halls across the country, and privately crafted in meetings with policy staff. Andrew Yang's willingness to listen is positive, but there is power in numbers. 

Will you follow my lead and email the Democratic candidates for president to clarify their stance on the Violence Against Women Act for the American people?