Someone Tell Conservatives That Domestic Violence is Not a Partisan Issue

Republicans vote against reauthorization of Violence Against Women Act

As if they want to ensure that no woman ever votes Republican again, the GOP has now made domestic violence a partisan issue. Just a week after they lost the contraception fight to the Obama administration’s clever maneuvering, the GOP is now set to take sides on the issue of violence against women. 

When now-Vice President Joe Biden introduced the Violence Against Women Act in 1994, the bill was aimed at the epidemic levels of intimate partner violence, sexual assault and stalking. The VAWA not only includes grants and training programs for prosecutors to ensure that abusers are put behind bars, but it also trains police officers to adequately deal with these types of crimes. Shelters for victims of abuse also rely on service grants authorized by the VAWA.

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Nearly 1 in 5 women will be the victim of an attempted or completed rape in her lifetime. Three women a day (on average) die at the hands of their boyfriends or husbands. Stats like this are alarming enough to ensure a swift reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, just like in 2000 and in 2005 right? Apparently, not.

Amanda Terkel reported at The Huffington Post that this year is the first time the reauthorization vote was split down party lines. Republican opposition is in part because of the cost, but also because of the new portions which deal with LGBT couples and undocumented immigrants who are the victims of domestic abuse. Another new provision allows for Native American tribes to prosecute offenders.