Full opinion text
MEMORANDUM OPINION KISER, Chief Judge. On March 1, 1996, Christy Brzonkala filed an amended complaint alleging violations of Title IX of the Education Amendment Aet, 20 U.S.C. § 1681, et seq., of Title III of the Violence Against Women Act, 42 U.S.C. § 13981 (“VAWA”), and of various state laws. Brzonkala brought claims against Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University (“VPI”), William Landsidle in his capacity as Comptroller of the Commonwealth, and three VPI football players, Antonio Morrison, James Crawford, and Cornell Brown. I dismissed the claims against VPI, William Landsidle, and Cornell Brown, and now I will consider the claims against Morrison and Crawford. Only the VAWA and some state law claims remain. I. Alleged Facts Brzonkala is an adult female who resides in Fairfax, Virginia. She attended VPI where she was a “student athlete” and a prospect for the women’s softball team. Morrison and Crawford are adult males. They attend VPI where they are members of the all-male football team. On the night of September 21, 1994 and the morning of the next day, Brzonkala was sexually assaulted in a room on the third floor of her dormitory by two men whom she and Hope Handley, another female student, had met less than a half-hour earlier and whose identities she knew only by given names and by then-status as football team members. Brzonkala alleges that the two men forced her to have sexual intercourse by threat and intimidation and through the use of Brzonkala’s “mental incapacity and physical helplessness.” She alleges that the two men’s acts “were motivated wholly by discriminatory animus toward her gender and were not random acts of violence.” Brzonkala reported that she was not inebriated at the time of the assaults. About five months later, Brzonkala learned that the assailants were Morrison and Crawford. On September 21, Brzonkala, Handley, Morrison, and Crawford were in a room on the third floor of Brzonkala’s dormitory. Handley and Crawford left the room following fifteen minutes of conversation, and Morrison immediately requested intercourse with Brzonkala. Brzonkala audibly told Morrison “no” twice. When Brzonkala rose to leave, Morrison forced her face-up onto a bed, pushed her down by her shoulders, and disrobed her. Morrison pinned her down by her elbows with his hands, pressed his knees against her legs, and forced her to submit to vaginal intercourse. Brzonkala attempted to push Morrison off. Then, before Brzonkala could recover, Crawford came back into the room, exchanged places with Morrison, and forced Brzonkala to submit to vaginal intercourse by pinning down her arms and placing his knees against her legs. Again before Brzonkala could recover, Morrison exchanged places with Crawford and forced Brzonkala to submit to vaginal intercourse a third time. Afterwards, Morrison said to Brzonkala, “You better not have any fucking diseases.” Neither Morrison nor Crawford used a condom. In February 1995, Brzonkala recognized Morrison and Crawford as the two men who forced her to submit to intercourse. Prior to this identification, Morrison announced publicly in the dormitory’s dining hall and in the presence of VPI student Charlotte Wachter, “I like to get girls drunk and fuck the shit out of them.” At the end of April 1995, Brzonkala filed a complaint against Morrison and Crawford under VPI’s Sexual Assault Policy. After Brzonkala filed her complaint, she learned that a VPI student overheard an unidentified male VPI athlete advise Crawford that he should have “killed the bitch.” In the first hearing, Morrison admitted the sexual contact and admitted that Brzonkala told him “no” twice. Crawford confirmed that Morrison had sexual conduct with Brzonkala and testified that Brzonkala was “really drunk” when she arrived in the room. Crawford denied that he had sexual contact with Brzonkala. The VPI judicial committee found Morrison guilty of sexual assault and suspended him from school for two semesters. The committee found insufficient evidence to take action against Crawford. In May 1995, Morrison appealed the committee’s sanction, and an appeals officer upheld the sanction. During a second hearing, the judicial committee found Morrison guilty of abusive conduct and reimposed the sanction of an immediate two-year suspension. Morrison appealed the result, and, without notice to Brzonkala, VPI set aside the sanction against Morrison. Morrison returned to VPI for the Fall 1995 semester. Brzonkala learned through a November 30, 1995 newspaper article that the judicial committee at the second hearing had actually found Morrison guilty of a reduced charge of “using abusive language.” Because Morrison would be present on the VPI campus during the Fall 1995 semester, Brzonkala feared for her personal safety and canceled her plan to return to VPI for the Fall semester. II. Statute 42 U.S.C. § 13981. Civil Rights (a) Purpose Pursuant to the affirmative power of Congress to enact this part under section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution, as well as under section 8 of Article I of the Constitution, it is the purpose of this part to protect the civil rights of victims of gender motivated violence and to promote public safety, health, and activities affecting interstate commerce by establishing a Federal civil rights cause of action for victims of crimes of violence motivated by gender. (b) Right to be free from crimes of violence All persons within the United States shall have the right to be free from crimes of violence motivated by gender (as defined in subsection (d) of this section). (c) Cause of action All persons (including a person who acts under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage of any State) who commits a crime of violence motivated by gender and thus deprives another of the right declared in subsection (b) of this section shall be liable to the party injured, in an action for the recovery of compensatory and punitive damages, injunctive and declaratory relief, and such other relief as a court may deem appropriate. (d) Definitions For purposes of this section- (1) the term “crime of violence motivated by gender” means a crime of violence committed because of gender or on the basis of gender, and due, at least in part, to an animus based on the victim’s gender; and (2) the term “crime of violence” means- (A) an act or series of acts that would constitute a felony against the person or that would constitute a felony against property if the conduct presents a serious risk of physical injury to another, and that would come within the meaning of State or Federal offenses described in section 16 of Title 18, whether or not those acts have actually resulted in criminal charges, prosecution, or conviction and whether or not those acts were committed in the special maritime, territorial, or prison jurisdiction of the United States; and (B) includes an act or series of acts that would constitute a felony described in subparagraph (A) but for the relationship between the person who takes such action and the individual against whom such action is taken. (e) Limitation and procedures (1) Limitation Nothing in this section entitles a person to a cause of action under subsection (c) of this section for random acts of violence unrelated to gender or for acts that cannot be demonstrated, by a preponderance of the evidence, to be motivated by gender (within the meaning of subsection (d) of this section). (2) No prior criminal action Nothing in this section requires a pri- or criminal complaint, prosecution, or conviction to establish the elements of a cause of action under subsection (c) of this section. (3) Concurrent jurisdiction The Federal and State courts shall have concurrent jurisdiction over actions brought pursuant to this part. (4) Supplemental jurisdiction Neither section 1367 of Title 28 nor subsection (c) of this section shall be construed, by reason of a claim arising under such subsection, to confer on the courts of the United States jurisdiction over any State law claim seeking the establishment of a divorce, alimony, equitable distribution of marital property, or child custody decree. III. Issues Two issues are involved: (1) whether the complaint sufficiently states a claim by Fed. R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6) standards, and, if so, (2) whether VAWA is constitutional. IV. Whether Brzonkala States a Claim A. Standard Rule 12(b)(6) dismissals are generally disfavored and only granted when it appears beyond doubt that a plaintiff can prove no set of facts in support of its claim which would entitle it to relief. Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 45-46, 78 S.Ct. 99, 102, 2 L.Ed.2d 80 (1957). I may only test plaintiffs complaint for any legal deficiency and must construe the factual allegations in a light most favorable to the plaintiff. Scheuer v. Rhodes, 416 U.S. 232, 94 S.Ct. 1683, 40 L.Ed.2d 90 (1974); Schatz v. Rosenberg, 943 F.2d 485, 489 (4th Cir.1991), cert. denied, 503 U.S. 936, 112 S.Ct. 1475, 117 L.Ed.2d 619 (1992). B. Analysis The sticking point in determining if Brzon-kala sufficiently stated a VAWA claim is whether she has sufficiently alleged that the rape was “motivated by gender.” A crime “motivated by gender” is defined as a crime “committed because of gender or on the basis of gender, and due, at least in part, to an animus based on the victim’s gender.” See 42 U.S.C. § 13981(d)(1). Defendants argue that Brzonkala failed the liberal pleading standards of Fed.R.Civ.P. 8. “A pleading which sets forth a claim for relief ... shall contain ... a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief,_” Fed.R.Civ.P. 8(a). “Each averment of a pleading shall be simple, concise, and direct. No technical forms of pleading or motions are required.” Fed. R.Civ.P. 8(e)(1). The legislative history behind VAWA sheds some light on the proof requirements which, in turn, shed some light on the pleading requirements. “Proof of ‘gender-motivation’ under [T]itle III should proceed in the same ways proof of race or sex discrimination proceeds under other civil rights laws. Judges and juries will determine ‘motivation’ from the ‘totality of the circumstances’ surrounding the event.” S.Rep. No. 197, 102d Cong., 2d Sess. 50 (1991). “Bias, in short, can be proved by circumstantial as well as indirect evidence.” S.Rep. No. 138, 103d Cong., 1st Sess. 52 (1993). Generally accepted guidelines for identifying hate crimes may also be useful in assessing whether the circumstances show gender-motivation. The following characteristics are used to determine whether a crime is bias related: language used by the perpetrator; the severity of the attack (including mutilation); the lack of provocation; previous history of similar incidents; absence of any other apparent motive (battery without robbery, for example); common sense.... S.Rep. No. 197,102d Cong., 2d Sess. 50 n. 72. The statute in question “requires subjective proof on a ease-by-case basis that the criminal was motivated by a bias against the victim’s gender. Whether a particular crime is, in fact, gender-motivated will be a question of fact for the court or jury to decide. ...” S.Rep. No. 138, 103d Cong., 1st Sess. 49-50. In support of her VAWA claim, Brzonkala makes the conclusory statement that Morrison and Crawford’s actions “were motivated wholly by discriminatory animus toward her gender and were not random acts of violence.” Such a conclusory statement is likely insufficient to state a claim. Cf. Simpson v. Welch, 900 F.2d 33 (4th Cir.1990). However, Brzonkala has alleged other facts that support this conclusory statement. Brzonkala alleges that she had met Morrison and Crawford less than a half-hour before she was raped, that Morrison and Crawford participated in a gang rape of Brzonkala, Morrison having sex with her one time before and one time after Crawford had sex with her, that neither Morrison nor Crawford used a condom, that, after raping her the second time, Morrison stated to Brzonkala, “You better not have any fucking diseases,” and finally that, within about five months after the rapes, Morrison announced publicly in the dormitory’s dining hall and in the presence of at least one woman, “I like to get girls drunk and fuck the shit out of them.” I need not decide whether the allegation of the rapes alone is sufficient to state a claim. All rapes are not the same, and the characteristics of the rapes here alleged, when compared to other rapes, indicate that gender animus more likely played a part in these rapes than in some other types of rape. First, the assault involved a gang rape. While any rape is egregious, all other factors the same, gang rape generally is more egregious than one-on-one rape. Where, as here, two men rape one woman, this indicates a conspiracy of disrespect for that woman. Second, these rapes fall somewhere in between stranger rape and date rape, and are probably closer to stranger rape. Again, while any rape is egregious, stranger rape and rapes such as the one in question generally are more egregious than date rape. Additionally, stranger rape generally more likely than date rape involves gender animus. For example, date rape could involve a misunderstanding and is often less violent than stranger rape. By the facts alleged, the case at hand does not involve any misunderstanding. Date rape could also involve a situation where a man’s sexual passion provokes the rape by decreasing the man’s control. Here there is no indication that sexual passion caused Morrison to initiate intercourse. Finally, date rape could involve in part disrespect for the victim as a person, not as a woman; in date rape the perpetrator knows the victim’s personality to some extent. In the case at hand, the facts indicate that Morrison and Crawford had little if any knowledge of Brzonkala’s personality. Therefore, by process of elimination, an inference of gender animus is more reasonable in this situation than in some other rapes. In Morrison’s ease, two facts other than the characteristics of the rapes point to gender animus. After having intercourse with Brzonkala for the second time, Morrison stated, “You better not have any fucking diseases.” While the relevance of this to gender animus is questionable, this further evidences the disrespect that Morrison had for Brzonkala, irrespective of any knowledge of her personality. More importantly and more relevant to gender animus, Morrison stated at a later date, in the presence of at least one woman, “I like to get girls drunk and fuck the shit out of them.” Although Morrison did not state that he likes to rape women, his statement reflects that he has a history of taking pleasure from having intercourse with women without their sober consent. This statement indicates disrespect for women in general and connects this gender disrespect to sexual intercourse, and, at least, raises an issue to be pursued in discovery. Although the statement is relevant without such an inference, the reasonable inference that Brzonkala was intoxicated at the time of the rapes further links Morrison’s statement to the alleged rapes at issue. While Brzon-kala alleges that she “reported that she was not inebriated at the time of the assaults,” she also alleges that Morrison raped her “through the use of [her] mental incapacity.” Crawford stated that Brzonkala was “really drunk.” Congress obviously intended this statute to apply to rapes motivated by gender bias. Morrison’s actions outwardly evidence gender animus more than many, if not most, situations of rape (at least before discovery has revealed any other evidence of gender animus). The purpose of the statute would be eviscerated if, to state a claim, a plaintiff had to allege, for example, that the defendant raped her and stated, “I hate women.” Defendants indicate that plaintiffs must allege facts such as an ongoing series of sexual assaults by the defendant. But, as plaintiff points out, she has not had opportunity to take discovery to uncover any possible prior similar assaults. Additionally, I question whether the alleged sexual assault plus a statement indicating that Morrison enjoys having intercourse with women against their sober consent is any less indicative of gender animus than an allegation of a series of sexual assaults. Therefore, at least against Morrison, Brzonkala has successfully stated a claim for a violation of 42 U.S.C. § 13981. The characteristics of the rape combined with Morrison’s statements are sufficient at least to meet the minimal federal pleading requirements. Whether Brzonkala can prove the allegations in her complaint by a preponderance of the evidence is not currently an issue before the Court. Deciding whether a claim is stated against Crawford is unnecessary considering my decision on the constitutionality of VAWA. V. Whether YAWA (42 U.S.C. § 18981) Is Constitutional If VAWA is constitutional, it must be based either on the Commerce Clause or the Enforcement Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. A. Commerce Clause 1. Commerce Power Generally Article I of the U.S. Constitution authorizes Congress “[t]o regulate commerce ... among the several States_” U.S. Const., art. I, § 8, el. 3. Plaintiff argues that YAWA is constitutional because it addresses conduct that substantially affects interstate commerce. In United States v. Lopez, — U.S. —, 115 S.Ct. 1624, 131 L.Ed.2d 626 (1995), the Supreme Court considered the constitutionality of former 18 U.S.C. § 922(q), the Gun-Free Zone Act of 1990, which forbade “ ‘any individual knowingly to possess a firearm at a place that the individual knows, or has reasonable cause to believe, is a school zone.’ ” Id. at —, 115 S.Ct. at 1626 (quoting former 18 U.S.C. § 922(q)(l)(A) (1988 ed., Supp. V)). Specifically, the Court considered whether this act was a permissible use of Congress’s commerce power. In answering this issue, the Court considered important that “the scope of the interstate commerce power ‘must be considered in the light of our dual system of government and may not be extended so as to embrace effects upon interstate commerce so indirect and remote that to embrace them, in view of our complex society, would effectually obliterate the distinction between what is national and what is local and create a completely centralized government.’ ” Id. at- -, 115 S.Ct. at 1628-1629 (quoting NLRB v. Jones & Laughlin Steel Corp., 301 U.S. 1, 87, 57 S.Ct. 615, 624, 81 L.Ed. 893 (1937)). The Court has “heeded that warning” and has “undertaken to decide whether a rational basis existed for concluding that a regulated activity sufficiently affected interstate commerce.” Id. at-, 115 S.Ct. at 1629 (citing among other cases Hodel v. Virginia Surface Mining & Reclamation Assn., Inc., 452 U.S. 264, 276-280, 101 S.Ct. 2352, 2360-2362, 69 L.Ed.2d 1 (1981)). The Supreme Court has not “ ‘declared that Congress may use a relatively trivial impact on commerce as an excuse for broad general regulation of state or private activities.’ ” Id. (quoting Maryland v. Wirtz, 392 U.S. 183, 197 n. 27, 88 S.Ct. 2017, 2024 n. 27, 20 L.Ed.2d 1020 (1968)). “Rather, ‘[t]he Court has said only that where a general regulatory statute bears a substantial relation to commerce, the de min-imis character of individual instances arising under that statute is of no consequence.’” Id. (quoting Wirtz, 392 U.S. at 197 n. 27, 88 S.Ct. at 2024 n. 27). Under its commerce power, Congress may regulate three broad categories of activity. First, Congress may regulate the use of the channels of interstate commerce. Second, Congress may regulate and protect the instrumentalities of interstate commerce, or persons or things in interstate commerce, even though the threat may come only from intrastate activities. Third, Congress may regulate those activities having a substantial relation to interstate commerce. Id. at -, 115 S.Ct. at 1629-1630 (citations omitted). In Lopez, the Court concluded that, in order to qualify for the third category, the regulated activity must “substantially affect” interstate commerce. Id. at-, 115 S.Ct. at 1630. 2. First Two Categories As in Lopez, in the case at hand the first two categories can be easily eliminated. VAWA is not “a regulation of the use of the channels of interstate commerce, nor is it an attempt to prohibit the interstate transportation of a commodity through the channels of commerce.” Cf. Lopez, — U.S. at-, 115 S.Ct. at 1630. Also, YAWA is not a regulation by which Congress has sought to protect an instrumentality of interstate commerce or a thing in interstate commerce. Cf. id. Admittedly women often travel between states, as do their abusers and assailants, but certainly more is required to qualify for the commerce power. Therefore, if VAWA is a permissible exercise of power under the Commerce Clause, it must qualify for the third category: it must regulate an activity that has a substantial effect on interstate commerce. 3. Lopez’s Analysis of Substantial Effect on Interstate Commerce The effeets-analysis of the majority decision in Lopez can be broken down into four parts. First, the Court noted the relevance of the nature of the regulated activity; the Court distinguished that case, dealing with the regulation of intrastate possession of guns, from cases dealing with the regulation of an intrastate activity which is economic in nature. Second, the Court considered whether § 922(q) had any jurisdictional element to ensure in individual cases that the firearm possession would affect interstate commerce. Third, the Court considered the importance of legislative history. And finally the Court considered the practical implications of accepting the Government’s argument that the economic impact of the regulated activity had sufficient effects on interstate commerce to sustain the regulation. a.Nature of Regulated Activity In Lopez, the Court noted that Wickard v. Filbum, 317 U.S. 111, 63 S.Ct. 82, 87 L.Ed. 122 (1942), was perhaps the most far-reaching example of Commerce Clause authority over intrastate activity and that Wickard involved economic activity in a way that the possession of a gun in a school zone does not. Lopez, — U.S. at —, 115 S.Ct. at 1630-1631. In Wickard, Roseoe Filbum operated a small farm in Ohio, on which he raised 23 acres of wheat for the year involved. He would sow winter wheat in the fall, harvest it in July, then sell some of it, feed some of it to his farm animals, and keep the remainder for seeding future crops. Wickard, 317 U.S. at 114, 63 S.Ct. at 84. The Secretary of Agriculture assessed a penalty against Filbum under the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938, because Filburn had harvested about 12 more acres of wheat than the Act permitted. Id. at 114-115, 63 S.Ct. at 84. The Court sustained the application of the Act to this activity, stating that homegrown wheat “competes with wheat in commerce,” because “it supplies a need of the man who grew it which would otherwise be reflected by purchases in the open market.” Id. at 128, 63 S.Ct. at 91. The Lopez Court differentiated § 922(q) from the statute in Wickard, because [sjeetion 922(q) is a criminal statute that by its terms has nothing to do with “commerce” or any sort of economic enterprise, however broadly one might define those terms. Section 922(q) is not an essential part of a larger regulation of economic activity, in which the regulatory scheme could be undercut unless the intrastate activity were regulated. It cannot, therefore, be sustained under our cases upholding regulations of activities that arise out of or are connected with a commercial transaction, which viewed in the aggregate, substantially affects interstate commerce. Lopez, — U.S. at--, 115 S.Ct. at 1630-1631 (footnote omitted). In effect, the Court separated the Commerce Clause analysis between situations where regulated intrastate activity is economic in nature and situations where the intrastate activity is not. After Lopez, cases such as Wickard, where regulated intrastate activity is economic in nature, do not control cases where regulated intrastate activity is not economic. At the least, after Lopez, whether intrastate activity is economic in nature is a very relevant consideration. b.Individual Case Inquiry In the next step in Lopez, the Court considered important that § 922(q) did not contain a “jurisdictional element which would ensure, through ease-by-case inquiry, that the firearm possession in question affects interstate commerce.” Id. at-, 115 S.Ct. at 1631. Section 922(q) had no jurisdictional element which limited “its reach to a discrete set of firearm possessions” that had “an explicit connection with or effect on interstate commerce.” Id. c.Relevance of Legislative History The Court noted that the Government conceded, that no express congressional findings were presented regarding, the effects upon interstate commerce of gun possession in a school zone and that “to the extent that congressional findings would enable [the Court] to evaluate the legislative judgment that the activity in question substantially affected interstate commerce, even though no such substantial effect was visible to the naked eye, they are lacking here.” Id. at -, 115 S.Ct. at 1631-1632. The Court, however, also stated that such findings were not necessary. Id. at-, 115 S.Ct. at 1631 (citations omitted). The Court further noted that Congress had made findings under an amended § 922(q). Id. at-n. 4, 115 S.Ct. at 1632 n. 4. At oral argument, the Government stated regarding the congressional findings, “[W]e’re not relying on them in the strict sense of the word, but we think that at a very minimum they indicate that reasons can be identified for why Congress wanted to regulate this particular activity.” Id. From this statement, the Court surmised that “[t]he Government [did] not rely upon these subsequent findings as a substitute for the absence of findings in the first instance.” Id. d. Practical Implications The Court addressed the practical implications of accepting as sufficient the Government’s argued effects on commerce. Id. at -, 115 S.Ct. at 1632-1634. The Government argued that possession of a firearm in a school zone may result in violent crime and that violent crime can be expected to affect the national economy in two ways. First, the costs of violent crime are substantial, and, through the mechanism of insurance, those costs are spread throughout the population. Second, violent crime reduces the willingness of individuals to travel to areas within the country that are perceived to be unsafe. The Government also argues that the presence of guns in schools poses a substantial threat to the educational process by threatening the learning environment. A handicapped educational process, in turn, will result in a less productive citizenry. That, in turn, would have an adverse effect on the Nation’s economic well-being. As a result, the Government argues that Congress could rationally have concluded that § 922(q) substantially affects interstate commerce. Id. at-, 115 S.Ct. at 1632. The Court observed that, if the regulation was constitutional based on these effects, then Congress’s power would be extended too far. Under the Government’s “costs of crime” reasoning, Congress could regulate “not only all violent crime, but all activities that might lead to violent crime, regardless of how tenuously they relate to interstate commerce.” Id. The Court stated that, under the Government’s “national productivity” reasoning, Congress could regulate “any activity that [Congress] found was related to the economic productivity of individual citizens: family law (including marriage, divorce, and child custody), for example.” Id. The Court concluded, “Thus, if we were to accept the Government’s arguments, we are hard-pressed to posit any activity by an individual that Congress is without power to regulate.” Id. Under the “threat to learning” reasoning, Congress could directly regulate family law issues and education. Id. at -, 115 S.Ct. at 1632-1633. 4. Application of Lopez’s Substantial Effects Analysis to the Case at Hand Congressional findings in support of VAWA reveal that violence against women is prevalent, and the Senate Report states that [g]ender-based violent crimes meet the modest threshold required by the Commerce Clause. Gender-based crimes and fear of gender-based crimes restricts movement, reduces employment opportunities, increases health expenditures, and reduces consumer spending, all of which affect interstate commerce and the national economy. Gender-based violence bars its most likely targets — women—from full participation in the national economy. For example, studies report that almost 50 percent of rape victims lose their jobs or are forced to quit in the aftermath of the crime. Even the fear of gender-based violence affects the economy because it deters women from taking jobs in certain areas or at certain hours that pose a significant risk of such violence. S.Rep. 138, 103d Cong., 1st Sess. 54 (1993). Notably, the Lopez Court stated, “ ‘[S]imply because Congress may conclude that a particular activity affects interstate commerce does not necessarily make it so.’” Lopez, — U.S. at — n. 2, 115 S.Ct. at 1629 n. 2 (quoting Hodel v. Virginia Surface Mining and Reclamation Assn., Inc., 452 U.S. 264, 311, 101 S.Ct. 2389, 2391, 69 L.Ed.2d 1 (1981) (Rhenquist, J., concurring)). “ ‘Whether particular operations affect interstate commerce sufficiently to come under the constitutional power of Congress to regulate them is ultimately a judicial rather than a legislative question, and can be settled finally only by this Court.’” Id (quoting Heart of Atlanta Motel v. United States, 379 U.S. 241, 273, 85 S.Ct. 348, 366, 13 L.Ed.2d 258 (1964)). This is particularly true where, subsequent to the Senate’s above finding, the “modest threshold required by the Commerce Clause” has become less modest. The House Conference found: [C]rimes of violence motivated by gender have a substantial adverse effect on interstate commerce, by deterring potential victims from traveling interstate, from engaging in employment in interstate business, and from transacting with business, and in places involved, in interstate commerce; crimes of violence motivated by gender have a substantial adverse effect on interstate commerce, by diminishing national productivity, increasing medical and other costs, and decreasing the supply of and the demand for interstate products. H.R.Rep. No. 711, 103d Cong., 2d Sess. 385 (1994) U.S.Code Cong. & Admin.News 1801, 1853. The differences between Lopez and the case at hand are insignificant, and the similarities are significant. Arguably the following three differences between the case at hand and Lopez render Lopez’s logic inapplicable to the ease at hand: (1) that VAWA is civil, and the Lopez statute was criminal, (2) that there are legislative findings here but not in Lopez, and (3) that fewer steps of causation exist between the VAWA regulated activity and commerce than § 922(q)’s regulated activity and commerce. The similarities include (1) the criminal nature of both statutes, (2) the non-commercial nature of both statutes, (3) the lack of a jurisdictional requirement that some effect on interstate commerce is involved in each ease, (4) the remoteness of any effect on commerce, and (5) the excessive congressional power that would logically follow from permitting both statutes based on the Commerce Clause, a. Possible Differences A close look at the possible differences reveals that they are insignificant and that the possible differences often point to similarities instead of differences. First, whereas no congressional findings were before the Lopez Court connecting the relevant activity to interstate commerce, congressional findings which support that violence against women affects interstate commerce are currently before this Court. As the Lopez Court pointed out, however, such findings are not necessary. Id. at -, 115 S.Ct. at 1631 (citations omitted). The Court only found the missing findings relevant in that the findings would have enabled the Court “to evaluate the legislative judgment that the activity in question substantially affected interstate commerce, even though no such substantial effect was visible to the naked eye_” Id. at -, 115 S.Ct. at 1632. Having said that, the Court noted that the amended § 922(q) included congressional findings regarding the effects upon interstate and foreign commerce of firearm possession in and around schools. Id. at-n. 4, 115 S.Ct. at 1632 n. 4. If the Court felt that such findings were extremely important, i.e. that the Court did not have a sufficient awareness of the effects absent the findings, then the Court could have considered the added congressional findings even in the face of the Government’s statement that it was not relying on the added findings “in the strict sense of the word,” but that “at a very minimum [the findings] indicate that reasons can be identified for why Congress wanted to regulate this particular activity.” Id. The fact that an attorney made an ambiguous statement possibly indicating a minimal reliance on congressional findings does not preclude a court from considering these findings. Regardless, even absent the express congressional findings, the Lopez Court had a sufficient knowledge of interstate commercial effects to consider. The commerce power is based on a reasonable effect on interstate commerce, not on Congress’s perceived effect on commerce. While the effects on commerce in Lopez were not obvious because they were so tenuous, undoubtedly the Court could fairly easily infer the effects in order to make a reasonable determination whether these effects were substantially related to commerce. Also, as listed in the appendix to Lopez, the Court had much authority to consider regarding the issue. See id. at- -, 115 S.Ct. at 1665-1671. More importantly, the Government actually presented the commercial effects in its argument, and the Court considered whether these sufficed. In sum, the fact that the effects need not be inferred in the ease at hand is not a very important difference. Congress need not make findings, the Lopez Court had access to Congress’s added findings, the Lopez Court had a reasonable appreciation of the effects via reasonable inferences, the authority in the appendix, and the Government’s argument, and the Lopez Court thoroughly considered the effects presented. The fact that Congress’s findings were not stressed in the Government’s argument is somewhat incidental, and it appears that the Court mentioned this simply as one feather with which to fill an already full pillow. While findings will often be helpful, findings are not necessary for a determination of whether a rational relation to interstate commerce exists. Second, the statute at issue is civil, whereas Lopez involved a criminal statute. This is technically a correct statement, however, VAWA is criminal in nature. VAWA was designed to address problems in the state criminal justice system, and, in attempting to supplement deficiencies in the state criminal system, it creates a civil cause of action that seeks to vindicate a criminal act. It provides a civil remedy for a “crime of violence,” which is defined in part as “an act or series of acts that would constitute a felony against the person or that would constitute a felony against property if the conduct presents a serious risk of physical injury to another.” 42 U.S.C. § 13981(d)(2)(A). A person liable under the act “shall be liable to the party injured, in an action for the recovery of compensatory and punitive damages, injunc-tive and declaratory relief, and such other relief as a court may deem appropriate.” 42 U.S.C. § 13981(c). Regardless, whether a statute based on the Commerce Clause is civil or criminal is of limited relevance. With statutes regulating intrastate activities, the primary concern is whether the activity is economic. Other than the economic nature of the activity to be regulated, the focus is not on the nature of the activity but on the related issue of the effects of the regulated activity on interstate commerce. Third, the steps of causation in the instant case are fewer than in Lopez. At best, an analysis of the steps of causation is an inexact science; the number of steps depends on how each step is defined, and a greater number of steps does not always indicate greater remoteness. Certainly this should not be the method for resolving Commerce Clause issues. In Lopez, the Government argued and the Court considered two general chains of causation. First, the possession of a firearm in a school zone may result in violent crime which may affect the national economy through either increased nationwide costs or a reduction in the willingness of individuals to travel to areas within the country that are perceived to be unsafe. Second, guns pose a substantial threat to the educational process by threatening the learning environment, and a handicapped educational environment leads to a less productive citizenry which affects the national economy. While the problems inherent in a step of causation analysis are compounded when comparing two different laws, comparing the steps in the case at hand to Lopez is helpful. Compared with Lopez’s first chain of causation, the case at hand possibly involves one less step than the postulated effects in Lopez. In the case at hand, the regulated activity is the violent crime, whereas in Lopez the regulated activity was an act that could lead to a violent crime. This distinction is not enough to apply the commerce power in the case at hand. The step from possession of a firearm in schools to the commission of a violent crime is a small step. Undoubtedly, often possession of a firearm leads to violent crime. Also, no violent crime is necessary to create an effect on commerce; the fear created solely by the possession of the guns undoubtedly somewhat affects commerce. Finally, the individual steps that each case has in common may be longer in the case at hand than in Lopez. Lopez’s second chain of causation is similar to plaintiffs argument that violent crimes against women affect the productivity of the nation by distracting women and by removing women from the workplace. Similarly, guns at schools affect the productivity of the nation by threatening the learning environment. It is a fair inference that guns at schools are distracting and dissuade many students from attending schools. This chain also involves one less step. Guns affect learning, an effect which in turn affects job performance, which in turn affects the national economy, which in turn affects interstate commerce. In the case at hand, violence against women affects job performance, which in turn affects the national economy, which in turn affects interstate commerce. Again the one less step in the ease at hand is unimportant. It is far from clear that the distance from the first to the last step is greater in the Lopez chain of causation than in the case at hand’s chain. The bottom line is that both Lopez and the ease at hand involve regulated activity that is too remote from interstate commerce. Any substantial distinction between the lengths of the chains of causation in Lopez and the lengths of the chains in the case at hand is inconsequential. As mentioned, the steps of causation analysis is an inexact science, a formalistic framework upon which no heavy reliance should be placed. In the end, the important issue is the proximity of the regulated activity to commerce, not the number of steps. The proximity between the regulated activity and commerce in the case at hand is similar to the proximity in Lopez, and any distinction between the two is based on insignificant differences and on differences which are impossible to comprehend with reasonable certainty. Even accepting the step analysis as helpful and accepting that the ease at hand involves fewer steps than the situation in Lopez, both situations involve regulated activity which is too remote from interstate commerce. b. Similarities (Other Than Those in the Possible Differences Section) Unlike the differences, the similarities between Lopez and the case at hand are real and significant. First, of major importance is that VAWA involves intrastate activity which is not commercial or even economic in nature. Any interstate nature of VAWA is insignificant. VAWA regulates local criminal activity. It does not regulate the growth of crops, the shipment of goods, or other similar economic activities. In line with Lopez, whether a statute regulates intrastate activity which is economic in nature is a consideration. See Lopez, — U.S. at —, 115 S.Ct. at 1630-1631. In Jane Doe v. John Doe, 929 F.Supp. 608 (D.Conn.1996), the only other opinion I am aware of that addresses this issue to date, the court upheld the constitutionality of VAWA under the Commerce Clause. The court compared the situation in Wickard to VAWA. As mentioned, the Wickard Court upheld the application of the Agricultural Adjustment Act to home-consumed wheat, stating, “It can hardly be denied that a factor of such volume and variability as home-consumed wheat would have a substantial influence on price and market conditions.” Wickard, 317 U.S. at 128, 63 S.Ct. at 91. Analyzing VAWA in light of Wickard, the Doe court concluded: Certainly the repetitive nationwide impact of women withholding, withdrawing or limiting their participation in the workplace or marketplace in response to or as a result of gender-based violence or the threat thereof, is of such a nature to be as substantial an impact on interstate commerce as the effect of excess “home grown” wheat harvesting which was found to have been properly regulated by Congressional enactment. Doe, 929 F.Supp. at 614 (citation omitted). This analysis is contrary to Lopez, which, as discussed, distinguished the Wickard case, in which the regulated activity was economic in nature, from cases such as the case at hand and Lopez, in which the regulated activity is in no way economic in nature. Lopez teaches that cases in which the statute at issue regulates intrastate activity which is economic in nature are analyzed differently from cases involving non-economic intrastate activity. After Lopez, reliance on Wickard to analyze the commerce power in a case involving a non-economic intrastate activity is not tenable. In addition to Wickard, the other cases upon which plaintiff relies heavily are all distinguishable as cases involving economic activity. See Lopez, — U.S. at —, 115 S.Ct. at 1630 (listing the following as cases involving congressional acts regulating intrastate economic activity: Hodel, 452 U.S. 264, 101 S.Ct. 2352, 69 L.Ed.2d 1 (1981) (involving intrastate coal mining); Perez v. United States, 402 U.S. 146, 91 S.Ct. 1357, 28 L.Ed.2d 686 (1971) (involving intrastate extortionate credit transactions); Katzenbach v. McClung, 379 U.S. 294, 85 S.Ct. 377, 13 L.Ed.2d 290 (1964) (involving restaurants utilizing substantial interstate supplies); and Heart of Atlanta Motel, 379 U.S. 241, 85 S.Ct. 348, 13 L.Ed.2d 258 (1964) (involving-inns and hotels catering to interstate guests)). Second, similar to § 922(q), VAWA does not have a jurisdictional requirement limiting each individual case under VAWA to situations involving interstate commerce. Although it is unclear whether such a jurisdictional requirement is needed, indications exist that such a requirement may be necessary. Congress has often placed such a requirement in legislation similar to VAWA. See Cleveland v. United States, 329 U.S. 14, 67 S.Ct. 13, 91 L.Ed. 12 (1946) (discussing the Mann Act, which made an offense the transportation in interstate commerce of any woman or girl for the purpose of prostitution or debauchery, or for any other immoral purpose). In United States v. Bass, 404 U.S. 336, 92 S.Ct. 515, 30 L.Ed.2d 488 (1971), respondent had been convicted for possession of firearms under Title VII of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, which mandated punishment for any convict “who receives, possesses, or transports in commerce or affecting commerce ... any firearm.” Id. at 337, 92 S.Ct. at 517. There was no attempt to show that respondent had possessed the firearms “in commerce or affecting commerce,” and the prosecution had proceeded on the assumption that such connection to commerce was necessary only for the transport element of the statute, not for possession. Id. at 338, 92 S.Ct. at 517-518. The Court of Appeals reversed respondent’s conviction, finding that if it accepted the prosecution’s interpretation of the statute, then there would be substantial doubt as to the statute’s constitutionality. Id. (citation omitted). The Supreme Court affirmed, but for different reasons, applying the interstate commerce requirement to receiving, possessing, or transporting a firearm. The Court reasoned that ambiguity in criminal statutes should be resolved in favor of lenity, Id. at 347, 92 S.Ct. at 522, and that ambiguity should be resolved in favor of not significantly changing the federal-state balance. Id. at 349, 92 S.Ct. at 523. Third, similar to the situation in Lopez, permitting VAWA as a constitutional exercise of the commerce power would have the practical result of excessively extending Congress’s power and of inappropriately tipping the balance away from the states. The Lopez Court placed much importance on the practical implications of permitting § 922(q) under the Commerce Clause. The practical implications in the case at hand are very similar. A reasonable inference from the congressional findings is that violence against women has its major effect on the national economy. Congress focused on the effect on the national economy, and a reasonable inference, based both on Congress’s focus and common sense, is that the effects on interstate travel are incidental. Showing that something affects the national economy does not suffice to show that it has a substantial effect on interstate commerce. Plaintiff uses “effects on the national economy” interchangeably with “effects on interstate commerce.” This is wrong. Undoubtedly effects on the national economy in turn affect interstate commerce. Such a chain of causation alone, however, is insufficient to bring an act within the purview of the commerce power. If such a chain of causation sufficed, Congress’s power would extend to an unbounded extreme. Defendants point out that facts show that insomnia costs the United States $15 billion a year (citing 2 Nat’l Comm’n On Sleep Disorders Research, Wake Up America: A National Sleep Alert (submitted to the U.S. Congress and the Secretary of Health and Human Services), 125-133 (1994)). This is as much as the yearly cost of domestic abuse. Other sources indicate that the cost of insomnia is much higher. See 140 Cong.Rec. § 14211-01, The Economics of Insomnia (daily ed. Oct. 5, 1994) (statement of Sen. Hatfield) (stating that a source indicates that the estimated annual economic cost of insomnia due to reduced productivity, accidents, and medical problems is between $92.5 and $107.5 billion). Insomnia undoubtedly also has some effect on interstate travel as insomniacs travel across state lines for treatment (e.g., to the nationally-renowned Johns Hopkins Sleep Disorder Center in Maryland). Insomniacs buy medicine which has traveled across state lines. Family law issues and most criminal issues affect the national economy substantially and in turn have some effect on interstate commerce. These too have interstate travel implications. However, to extend Congress’s power to these issues would unreasonably tip the balance away from the states. The fact that Congress limited VAWA, in stating that VAWA does not “confer on the courts of the United States jurisdiction over any State law claim seeking the establishment of a divorce, alimony, equitable distribution of marital property, or child custody decree,” 42 U.S.C. § 13981(e)(4), is utterly insignificant to the practical implications of accepting the regulated activity as having a substantial effect on interstate commerce. It is the logic on which Congress based its commerce power that is important. If the justification for VAWA under the Commerce Clause is constitutionally acceptable, then certainly Congress would have power to regulate much activity which should be left to state control. Similar to the situation in Lopez, if I accepted plaintiffs argument, I would be “hard-pressed to posit any activity by an individual that Congress is without power to regulate.” Lopez, — U.S. at-, 115 S.Ct. at 1632. In essence, if VAWA is a permissible use of the commerce power because of the regulated activity’s effect on the national economy, which in turn affects interstate commerce, then it would be inconsistent to deny the commerce power’s extension into family law, most criminal laws, and even insomnia. The combination of the insignificance of the differences between the case at hand and Lopez and the significance of the similarities leads to the conclusion that Congress acted beyond its commerce power in enacting VAWA. Any other conclusion would strain reason. As Justice Scalia recently stated regarding the Supreme Court, “[W]e expect both ourselves and lower courts to adhere to the ‘rationale upon which the Court based the results of its earlier decisions.’ ” United States v. Virginia, — U.S. —, —, 116 S.Ct. 2264, 2305, 135 L.Ed.2d 735 (Scalia, J., dissenting) (quoting Seminole Tribe of Fla. v. Florida, — U.S. —, —, 116 S.Ct. 1114, 1128-1129, 134 L.Ed.2d 252 (1996)). A reasonable adherence to Lopez reveals that VAWA is not a proper use of the commerce power. B. The Enforcement Clause The Fourteenth Amendment states in part, “No state shall ... deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” U.S. Const., amend. XIV, § 1. It also states, “The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.” U.S. Const., amend. XIV, § 5. 1. Some Public Involvement Needed The Supreme Court has explicitly stated that the Fourteenth Amendment regulates only state action and that some state involvement is necessary. See, e.g., Civil Rights Cases, 109 U.S. 3, 11, 3 S.Ct. 18, 21, 27 L.Ed. 835 (1883) (stating that an “[i]ndividual invasion of individual rights is not the subject matter of the [Fourteenth A]mendment”); Shelley v. Kraemer, 334 U.S. 1, 13, 68 S.Ct. 836, 842, 92 L.Ed. 1161 (1948) (stating that the Fourteenth Amendment “erects no shield against merely private conduct, however discriminatory or wrongful”); Unit ed States v. Guest, 383 U.S. 745, 755, 86 S.Ct. 1170, 1176, 16 L.Ed.2d 239 (1966) (opinion of Stevens, J.) (“It is a commonplace that rights under the Equal Protection Clause itself arise only where there has been involvement of the State or of one acting under the color of its authority5’); Bray v. Alexandria Women’s Health Clinic, 506 U.S. 263, 352-355, 113 S.Ct. 753, 802-804, 122 L.Ed.2d 34 (1993) (O’Connor, J., dissenting). Careful adherence to the “state action” requirement preserves an area of individual freedom by limiting the reach of federal law and federal judicial power. It also avoids imposing on the State, its agencies or officials, responsibility for conduct which they cannot fairly be blamed. Lugar v. Edmondson Oil Co., 457 U.S. 922, 936, 102 S.Ct. 2744, 2753, 73 L.Ed.2d 482 (1982). The Fourteenth Amendment states, “No state ... shall deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” U.S. Const., amend. XIV, § 1 (emphasis added). The legislative history behind the Fourteenth Amendment indicates that the congressional framers were concerned with private encroachment on civil rights. See Eugene Gressman, The Unhappy History of Civil Rights Legislation, 50 Meh.L.Rev. 1323, 1329-1330 (1952). However, by holding that the Fourteenth Amendment applies to private conduct with a certain connection to state action, the Fourteenth Amendment can still reach some private conduct. But Supreme Court precedent and, moreover, the language of the Fourteenth Amendment require that some state involvement is necessary, even though it may be tangential. Some authority indicates that Congress may address purely private conduct via § 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment in spite of the fact that § 1 actions require state action. In Guest, while Justice Stevens’ opinion of the Court mandated some public involvement for Congress’s use of the power granted by § 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment, six justices agreed that no state action was necessary for Congress’s use of § 5. 383 U.S. at 762, 774-786, 86 S.Ct. at 1180, 1186-1193; see also, District of Columbia v. Carter, 409 U.S. 418, 93 S.Ct. 602, 34 L.Ed.2d 613 (1973) (opinion of Brennan, J.) (stating first, “The Fourteenth Amendment itself ‘erects no shield against merely private conduct, however dis-eriminatoxy or wrongful,’ ” id. at 423-424, 93 S.Ct. at 606 (quoting Shelley v. Kraemer, 334 U.S. at 13, 68 S.Ct. at 842), then stating in a footnote, “This is not to say, of course, that Congress may not proscribe purely private conduct under § 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment.” Id. at 424 n. 8, 93 S.Ct. at 606 n. 8 (emphasis added)). Although Congress has certain discretion under § 5, the idea that Congress can address purely private conduct under § 5 is contrary to both the language of the Fourteenth Amendment and the Civil Rights Cases, 109 U.S. 3, 11, 3 S.Ct. 18, 21, 27 L.Ed. 835 (1883) (stating that § 5 permits Congress only to “adopt appropriate legislation for correcting the effects of such prohibited State laws and State acts, and thus to render them effectively null, void, and innocuous”). The Court has stressed that, even in the face of conflicting Supreme Court decisions, lower courts are not to assume that Supreme Court precedent has been implicitly overruled, see Rodriguez de Quijas v. Shearson/American Express, Inc., 490 U.S. 477, 484, 109 S.Ct. 1917, 1921-1922, 104 L.Ed.2d 526 (1989), and the Court has cited the Civil Rights Cases approvingly as recently as 1982. See Lugar, 457 U.S. at 936, 102 S.Ct. at 2753. 2. Morgan Even though state action was not at issue in Katzenbach v. Morgan, 384 U.S. 641, 86 S.Ct. 1717, 16 L.Ed.2d 828 (1966), the plaintiff relies primarily on the sweeping language of Morgan in support of her position that the Fourteenth Amendment reaches private conduct. In Morgan, the Court considered whether § 4(e) of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was constitutional under § 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment. Section 4(e) provided in relevant part that no person who successfully completed the sixth grade in public or private school in Puerto Rico in which the language of instruction was other than English shall be denied the right to vote because of an inability to read or write English. Id. at 643,86 S.Ct. at 1719. Appellees in the case challenged § 4(e) in that it prohibited the enforcement of the election laws of New York, which required an ability to read and write English as a condition of voting. Id. at 643-644, 86 S.Ct. at 1719-1720. Appellees attacked § 4(e) because it enabled many New York residents to vote who could not previously vote under the New York law. Id. at 644-645, 86 S.Ct. at 1720. The Court held that § 4(e) was a proper exercise of the powers granted to Congress by § 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment, and, by force of the Supremacy Clause, the New York English literacy requirement could not be enforced to the extent that it was inconsistent with § 4(e). Id. at 646-647, 86 S.Ct. at 1721. The Court stated, “A construction of § 5 that would require a judicial determination that the enforcement of the state law precluded by Congress violated the [Fourteenth] Amendment, as a condition of sustaining the congressional enactment, would depreciate both congressional resourcefulness and congressional responsibility for implementing the Amendment.” Id. at 648, 86 S.Ct. at 1722. The Court’s task was not to determine “whether the New York English literacy requirement as applied to deny the right to vote to a person who successfully completed the sixth grade in a Puerto Rico school violate[d] the Equal Protection Clause.” Id. at 649, 86 S.Ct. at 1722-1723. Instead, the Court’s task was to determine whether § 4(e) was “as required by § 5, appropriate legislation to enforce the Equal Protection Clause.” Id. at 649-650, 86 S.Ct. at 1723. The Court noted that § 5 has a broad scope. Id. at 650, 86 S.Ct. at 1723. “Let the end be legitimate, let it be within the scope of the constitution, and all means which are appropriate, which are plainly adapted to that end, which are not prohibited, but consist with the letter and spirit of the constitution, are constitutional.” Id. (quoting M’Culloch v. Maryland, 17 U.S. (4 Wheat.) 316, 421, 4 L.Ed. 579 (1819)). Therefore, the test is (1) whether a statute “may be regarded as an enactment to enforce the Equal Protection Clause, [ (2) ] whether it is ‘plainly adapted to that end’ and [ (3) ] whether it is not prohibited by but is consistent with ‘the letter and spirit of the constitution.’ ” Id. at 651, 86 S.Ct. at 1724 (quoting M’Culloch, 17 U.S., (4 Wheat.) at 421). Regarding the first requirement, the Court stated, “There can be no doubt that § 4(e) may be regarded as an enactment to enforce the Equal Protection Clause.” Id. at 652, 86 S.Ct. at 1724. Congress “explicitly declared” that it enacted § 4(e) to secure rights under the Fourteenth Amendment, and “§ 4(e) may be viewed as a measure to secure for the Puerto Rican community residing in New York nondiscriminatory treatment by government.” Id. Regarding the second requirement, the Court indicated that § 4(e) “may be readily seen as ‘plainly adapted’ ” to furthering aims of the Equal Protection Clause. Id. Section 4(e) in effect “prohibits] New York from denying the right to vote to large segments of its Puerto Rican community” and thus enhances the Puerto Rican community’s political power, which in turn “will be helpful in gaining nondiscriminatory treatment in public services for the entire Puerto Rican community.” Id. at 652, 86 S.Ct. at 1724. “Section 4(e) thereby enables the Puerto Rican minority better to obtain ‘perfect equality of civil rights and the equal protection of the laws.’ ” Id. at 652-653, 86 S.Ct. at 1724-1725. Therefore, Morgan involved state action (New York’s statute) which caused an infringement on Fourteenth Amendment rights. The extent of Morgan’s applicability to the case at hand is limited. In Morgan, Congress’s statute invalidated a state statute and thereby remedied equal protection violations. 384 U.S. at 652-653, 86 S.Ct. at 1724-1725. Reasonably Morgan is limited to situations where Congress acted against state action which caused a denial of equal protection, and Morgan does not permit Congress to act against purely private action incidentally giving rise to state action which causes a denial of equal protection. However, Morgan is distinguishable on other grounds as well, as will be discussed. 3. VAWA VAWA has two general purposes. It was enacted to attack gender-motivated crime against women and to supplement deficiencies in the state criminal justice system. First, VAWA adds to state systems a remedy for the bias element of gender-motivated violent crimes against women. VAWA “attacks gender-motivated crimes that threaten women’s equal rights,” taking “aim at gender discrimination prohibited under the [Thirteenth] Amendment.” S.Rep. No. 197, 102d Cong., 1st Sess. 53 (1991). “State and Federal criminal laws do not adequately protect against the bias element of crimes of violence motivated by gender.” H.R.Rep. No. 711, 103d Cong., 2d Sess. 385 (1994), U.S.Code Cong. & Admin.News 1801, 1853. The Senate found, [w]here a crime is shown to be motiva