U.S. House version of VAWA bill

Here we go again.

The U.S. Senate re-authorized the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) earlier this month. (No thanks to SC's two senators.)  Now it's to be taken up by the House of Representatives.

The Republican-controlled House has now come up with their own version of this bill and, no surprise, it removes the protection under the bill for the LGBT community.

" Specifically, the bill removes "sexual orientation" and "gender identity" from the list of underserved populations who face barriers to accessing victim services, thereby disqualifying LGBT victims from a related grant program. The bill also eliminates a requirement in the Senate bill that programs that receive funding under VAWA provide services regardless of a person's sexual orientation or gender identity. Finally, the bill excludes the LGBT community from the STOP program, the largest VAWA grant program, which gives funds to care providers who work with law enforcement officials to address domestic violence."  

The House's rationale for this mean-spirited endeavor is that by enumerating the groups that the bill will cover it is excluding those groups that are not specifically referred to --which would entail "constant updating." of the bill.  Omigod!  I'm trying to imagine what other groups they could be talking about.  Giraffes?  Dust mites? Green creatures from space?

 The House Bill also modifies the provision targeting Native American victims.

 " Under the Senate bill, tribal courts would gain new authority to prosecute non-Native American men who abuse Native American women on reservations. The House bill also grants that new authority -- a major change from the bill House Republicans put forward in the last Congress -- but adds a caveat that would allow those people to move their case to a federal court if they feel their constitutional rights aren't being upheld."  (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/22/vawa-2013_n_2742096.html)
 

Here's a link to the bill and a discussion of what it contains:  http://docs.house.gov/billsthisweek/20130225/CPRT-113-RU00-S47_xml.pdf

According to the Huffington Post

"House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) trashed the GOP proposal  altogether."House Republicans just can’t help themselves," Pelosi said in a statement. "Even with a strong, bipartisan bill passed by the Senate for the second Congress in a row, even with countless women in need of support and protection, Republicans are still turning the Violence Against Women Act into a partisan political football."
 

Right on.