House to vote on VAWA reauthorization tomorrow

Last week, the House Judiciary Committee approved their version of the Violence Against Women Act, which compared to current Senate-approved provisions in the bill which would include protections for LGBTQ folks and immigrants, is just not a good look:

The House Judiciary Committee last week approved its version of the reauthorization bill, which not only omits improvements the Senate bill made to the law but also removes existing protections for immigrant women, putting them at greater risk of domestic and sexual abuse.

The Senate’s measure ensures that victims are not denied services because they are gay or transgender. It also strives to ensure that domestic violence crimes committed by non-Indian men in tribal communities are prosecuted. The Senate bill also would modestly expand the availability of special U-visas for undocumented immigrants who are victims of domestic violence. That move was supported by law enforcement to encourage victims to come forward and testify against their abusers.

Each year, VAWA is reauthorized with improvements. But this bunk version of the bill is merely a shade of a legislation, and if passed, will be big step backwards for not only for the communities it should be protecting, but for the Violence Against Women Act altogether.  Let’s also remember that with the current bad rap Republicans have with women and folks with uteri these days, this would be a really, really unwise political move.

If the House knows what’s good for them, they’ll vote for the legislation that protects all Americans. Find your House rep, call them and tell them that if they want a chance in hell of maintaining some standing in Congress, they need to do the right thing.

Join the Conversation