VAWA Reauthorization Bill Will Avoid Filibuster Hurdle
By Lucas Eaves | 02/04/2013 | Legislation, Legislators, Organizations, Safety | 18 Comments
Credit: http://www.cwa-union.org/
The U.S. Senate will vote to re-authorize the Violence Against Women Act this week. As of Thursday, the bill has the support of 60 senators which is enough to avoid a potential Republican filibuster. Tweet
Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), co-author of the bill, released the news on his Twitter account:
JUST TOPPED ‘magic number’ of 60 bipartisan cosponsors of my #VAWA legisl.; We’re moving briskly toward Senate vote on the Leahy-Crapo Bill
— Sen. Patrick Leahy (@SenatorLeahy) January 31, 2013
The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), introduced in 1994, has been used to increase the accountability of perpetrators of crimes against women as well as providing victims of these crimes with the services they need to recover. This act has been a central element in the protection of women over the last two decades. Tweet quote: Tweet
Congress has never failed to re-authorize the law until last year after it died in the U.S. House. The proposed bill, voted on by the Senate in April 2012, passed the camber with a bi-partisan supermajority (68-31) only to be blocked by House Republicans several times. No agreement was made before the end of the congressional session.
Republican opposition to extending VAWA was a failure to extend federal protections to 30 million more women, including LGBT women, Native American women living in tribal lands, and immigrants. Most of these extensions were opposed for political reasons, but the increase of U-Visas available to undocumented migrants who have been victims of sexual and domestic abuse received objections on procedural grounds.
The fees that come with the U-Visa would raise revenues and such fiscal legislation must start in the House. Even if, in theory, there was a way to get around this rule, some House Republicans said that this provision “is good enough for us to object to the whole thing.”
The new Leahy-Crapo VAWA reauthorization bill removed this controversial provision and is likely to receive enough bi-partisan support to clear the Senate floor later this week. The fate of life-saving services and counseling for millions of women will then be in the hands of House Republicans.
The 113th Congress has already made history by being the most diverse and having the highest number of women members ever. Hopefully, this change will favor the protection of women’s rights over the usual partisan discord. Spread the news: Tweet
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18 Comments
Alex Gauthier
02.04.2013
@alexg
glad they finally got this through after it was killed later last year
Lucas Eaves
02.04.2013
@lucaseaves
it still needs to go through the house and that won’t be easy.
Tim Kieser
02.05.2013
Sexist legislation, crime against a woman should be no worse than against a man. Can’t fight to be called equal, then say you deserve special privileges because you feel unequal compared to a man. I do not support this at all. Punish all crimes fairly, as a crime against a human, an individual. One victim is no more deserving of “more rights to protection” than the next.
Nicole Gemberling Dorman
02.05.2013
Wouldn’t it be great if we held every perpetrator accountable regardless of the special classification of the victim?
Donavan Spencer
02.05.2013
What about the abused men?
Anthony Byrd
02.05.2013
He-men woman haters club^^^^^^
Nicole Gemberling Dorman
02.05.2013
That’s the thing about such legislation. You can’t be against it – especially if you’re a man – because then you’re labeled a “sexist” and made a general in what the left calls “The War on Women.” Heck, I’m a woman. Progressive feminists like to tell me that I’m brainwashed because I want true equality, not special accommodations.
Brad Lehman
02.05.2013
I wonder if they’re going to write it so it’s constitutional this time…
Lucas Eaves
02.05.2013
This law is needed because the victims of domestic violence and sexual assaults who are women are far more numerous than men. When this reality changes, we can talk about creating true equality.
Cesar Luna
02.05.2013
Although the law is titled Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), it also protects men as well as children and the elder. Don’t let the name fool you. It is a wonderful law that must be reauthorized.
Jay Clark
02.05.2013
This is only a problem that needs to be handled at the state level.
Victor Friskey
02.05.2013
I’m pretty sure we have indiviual laws for each one of the crimes you mentione….our doing nothing Congress has nothing else they want to do so they decide to work on this Bill or law..which is a duplicate of hundreds of individual laws.
Victoria Torres
02.05.2013
So true, i think the only reason we would need an unequal law like this is if the crime statistics on violence against women were unequal as well, i mean why do women need extra protection if men who beat or kill their wives receive the same punishment as wives who beat or kill their husbands. Why the extra protection for women when the number of men getting raped is equal to that of women getting raped, why do we need this clearly sexist law when woman in the military are encouraged and supported in reporting sexual abuse. I mean come on, its not like women are being discriminated against anymore just because they are women. Its not like we as women make less than men do when both sexes are doing the exact same job. And its not like we as women still have to fight for our right to make our own decisions when it comes to our bodies. I mean birth control and viagra are both covered by insurances, and neither of those have ever caused a debate about what type of health benefits they provide. In a society such as ours where there is no discrimination against anyone based on sex, sexual orientation, race, intellect, financial situations, we do not need laws that protect people from that. Oh what a perfect world we live in.
Lucas Eaves
02.05.2013
The law does not only provide laws about crimes against women. It provides funding to “training for about 500,000 law enforcement officials, judges, and prosecutors each year to help ensure that the legal system is better equipped to respond to those type of crime”. It also provides funding for live savings services for the victims. It is not “just duplicating individual laws.”
Brandon DuBois
02.05.2013
As a man that has been the victim of multiple violent attacks from women, I must say that this law creates even more of a double standard. Why not just prosecute ALL perpetrators with violence EQUALLY, since it’s equal rights everyone wants.
Wes Alderson
02.05.2013
Nobody would want to philibuster this bill.
David Daugherty
02.05.2013
funny how the male half of victims get shafted by this legislation, due in no small part to number of “white knights”
Steven Maher
02.05.2013
The law is created with good intentions but some of the worst things imaginable becomes a reality with the best of intention…some things need to change on a cultural level not legally.