The 112th Congress let it fall through the cracks, but Senators Mike Crapo (R-ID) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT) are reintroducing not only the bill but the provisions intended to include Native American and LGBT women. Leahy’s statement on Tuesday pulls no punches:
“The fate of the Violence Against Women Act still lays squarely on the shoulders of Eric Cantor and John Boehner. To date they have refused to listen to countless law enforcement and women’s groups as well as moderate voices in their own party in the House and Senate who’ve said we need to pass the Senate’s bipartisan bill that extends protections to millions of new women.
“In a new Congress, on a newly reintroduced bill, the House Republican leadership faces the same choice. They can either kowtow [to] those on the far right of their caucus who would turn battered women away from care, or they can stand with Democrats, moderate Republicans, and the many millions of Americans who believe that who a person loves, where they live, or their immigration status shouldn’t determine whether they are protected from violence.
Too right.