Violence Against Women Act

You might not know this since the local (Charleston) paper and local (Charleston) broadcast media have not mentioned it, but the US. House of Representatives let the Senate version of the Violence Against Women Act (1) die without a vote last week.

The Senate version, passed in April, redefined domestic violence victims to include undocumented immigrants, Native American women and members of the LGBT community, including men.

The Republican-controlled house apparently believes only women who are straight, American citizens and not living on an Indian reservation are possible victims of domestic violence.

Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) plans to reintroduce the revised bill in 2013.

I wrote our then Senator (R-SC) DeMint asking why he had voted against this bill in April. Here's part of his response to me.

"As you know, the Senate passed S.1925 on April 26 by a vote of 68 – 31...I voted against this bill because I believe law enforcement is best addressed on a state level as state and local law enforcement officials play a crucial role in combating crime and ensuring the safety of South Carolina's citizens.

   ... This well-intentioned bill...forces states to surrender their ability to offer help in specialized, individual ways..."

 

First of all, we can only be thankful here in SC that DeMint is no longer representing us in Congress (if he ever did! ).  He resigned--always the sign of a dedicated public servant. But, as the saying goes: Be Careful What You Wish For...and now we've got Tim Scott, who I doubt very much would have voted differently or had anything smarter to say.

 

Secondly, we certainly don't want the State of South Carolina to be in charge of helping victims of Domestic Violence.  This state was ranked number two in 2011...that's SECOND in the nation... for the number of women murdered by men. (http://www.vpc.org/studies/wmmw2011.pdf.)

 

And even if we were to trust this state, our current Republican (and woman)  Nikki Haley doesn’t believe that rape and domestic abuse are matters of public health, which is why she vetoed nearly half a million dollars slated to go toward domestic violence and sexual assault prevention programs.(http://www.care2com/cuases/south-carolina-gov-vetoes-sexual-assault-and-domestic-violence-funds.html)

 

Pretty sad state of affairs.

 

 

 

 

 

(1) The original 1994 Act provided, among other things, federal monies for investigation and prosecution of violent crimes against women . (http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-109hr3402enr/pdf/BILLS-109hr3402enr.pdf) It also established the Office on Violence Against Women within the Department of Justice.