The Charleston City Paper recently published a guest column by Alison Piepmeier on the Republican "no" vote on the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act. (Dr. Piepmeier is the Director of the Women's and Gender Studies program at the College of Charleston.) ( http://www.charlestoncitypaper.com/charleston/why-did-house-republicans-refuse-to-vote-on-the-violence-against-women-act/Content?oid=4504192) The subtitle of her column was"GOP Jerks."
She discusses the importance of the Act and the programs on domestic violence which it funds.
She also outlines the reasons that the House Republicans blocked the bill: "because it would offer support to victims of domestic violence that apparently many in the GOP don't like: undocumented immigrants, members of the LGBT community, and Native Americans."
"We know this was their motivation," she goes on, "because in May the House approved its own revised version of the Violence Against Women Act, which removed protection for LGBT individuals, undocumented immigrants, and Native Americans-and the Republicans, including South Carolina's entire GOP delegation in the House, voted for it.
"Surely," writes Dr. Piepmeier, "the men and women of the GOP understand that members of the LGBT community....undocumented immigrants....Native Americans don't deserve to be beaten, raped or stalked. Come on, now."
Come on, now, indeed!
And Dr. Piepmeier closes with "I'm baffled that some of our national leaders are such jerks."
And so am I!
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