Some House republicans now lying about how they voted for VAWA

[babylonsister]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/07/violence-against-women-act_n_2832014.html?1362699260

Violence Against Women Act Now Touted By Republicans Who Voted Against Bill

Posted: 03/07/2013 6:34 pm EST | Updated: 03/08/2013 12:14 am EST



WASHINGTON -- When Congress passed the Violence Against Women Act reauthorization bill late last month, more than 130 House Republicans voted against it. But some of those same lawmakers are putting out misleading statements that make it look like they voted for the bill instead.

Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), for one, issued a statement with the headline, "King Votes in Support of Violence Against Women Act." But King didn't vote for the VAWA bill. Instead, he voted for a GOP alternative bill that failed to advance.

"I supported VAWA in 2005, 2012, and today I voted in support of the House version to see that victims of domestic violence and sexual assault have access to the resources and protection when they need it most," King's statement reads.

Then there's Rep. Bill Johnson (R-Ohio), who disputed his VAWA vote with a constituent during a Facebook Town Hall. "Please make sure you have the facts right. I DID vote in favor of VAWA today," Johnson wrote. But he didn't.

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"The fact is, Tea Party Republicans want to take credit for something they fought tooth and nail for more than 500 days: a law to help protect all women and their children from domestic violence ... Tea Party House Republicans must stop saying one thing at home and doing the opposite in Washington," Bittner said in a statement.

[Frustratedlady]

1. Depends upon how you read it.

King would support violence against women. Listen to him run off his mouth. Protect women? Don't think so.

[proverbialwisdom]

2. "One of great legacies of this law is that it didn't just change the rules, it changes our culture."

http://on.aol.com/video/obama-signs-violence-against-women-act-517693856

VIDEO: President Barack Obama renewed the Violence Against Women Act during a signing ceremony in Washington. New provisions strengthen protections for victims attacked on tribal lands and gays and lesbians. (March 7)

Washington DC - March 7, 2013

U.S. President Barack Obama:

"One of the great legacies of this law is that it didn't just change the rules. It changes our culture. It empowered people to start speaking out. It made it okay for us as a society to talk about domestic abuse. It made it possible for us as a country to address the problem in a real and meaningful way, and it made clear to victims that they were not alone, that they always had a place to go and they always had people on their side. And today, because members of both parties worked together, we're able to renew that commitment. Today is about the millions of women, the victims of domestic abuse and sexual assault who are out there right now looking for a lifeline, looking for support. Because of this bill, they'll continue to have access to all the services that Joe first helped to establish 19 years ago - national hotline, network of shelters, protection orders that carry across state lines. We've made incredible progress since 1994, but we cannot let up, not when domestic violence still kills three women a day, not when one in five women will be a victim of rape in their lifetime, not when one in three women is abused by a partner. So, I promise you, not just as your president, but as a son and a husband and a father, I'm going to keep at this."

http://sundial.csun.edu/2013/03/obamas-revised-violence-against-women-act-to-protect-more-groups/

Obama’s revised Violence Against Women Act to protect more groups
By ReAnne Rogers
March 12th, 2013

President Obama made a move to protect more victims of violence by announcing on March 7 that he would sign the Violence Against Women Act, which would add coverage for gays, lesbians, transgender people, immigrants and Native Americans who were previously not included in its protections.

The act received bipartisan support from The House of Representatives Feb. 28, when 87 republicans and 199 democrats voted to pass the bill, which sent it to Obama.

“I was pleased to see the House of Representatives come together and vote to reauthorize and strengthen the Violence Against Women Act,” Obama said in a statement. “Over more than two decades, this law has saved countless lives and transformed the way we treat victims of abuse.”

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This is not the first time that VAWA has been passed. Vice President Joe Biden drafted the GOP bill in 1994 while he was senator of Delaware. The act was passed with bipartisan support then as well, according to ABC News.

“The urgent need for this bill cannot be more obvious,” Biden said in a statement. “Consider just one fact—that 40 percent of all mass shootings started with the murderer targeting their girlfriend, or their wife, or their ex-wife.”

The act of 1994 provided funding toward the investigation and prosecution of violence crimes against women. It also demanded automatic and mandatory restitution for those convicted, as well as established the Office on Violence Against Women in the Department of Justice according to www.whitehouse.gov. When the act was on the verge of expiration in 2000, President Bill Clinton reauthorized the bill in October of that year.

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