'You're not alone' Elizabeth Warren says to victim of domestic violence

Kim Norvell | Des Moines Register

CLARINDA, Ia. — U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren said in order “to live our values,” more state and federal money should go toward supporting victims of domestic abuse.

The senator from Massachusetts was responding to a question posed in Clarinda on Sunday by a victim of domestic violence. The woman wanted to know how Warren would help victims of domestic and sexual violence recover, referring to the help she got getting “back on her feet” at a local women’s shelter.

“The first is to say, you’re not alone,” Warren responded. “There are people here who have also suffered. There are people here who will support you. And that will always be the case and it’s important that you know that.”

Warren, a Democrat running for president, said the U.S. Senate needs to pass the Violence Against Women Act — a 1994 law that uses federal grants to help victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking. The law expired last year. A reauthorized bill has passed the House, but the Republican-controlled Senate has not taken up the bill.

She also pledged more money to federal and state programs that go toward helping victims but did not specify how much she would increase budgets. Warren said increasing their budgets is a way “to live our values.”

“Look at our budgets. How much do we put into women’s shelters and shelters for people who’ve been abused? And the answer is, we’ve asked them to do the most with the least,” Warren said.

Lastly, Warren touted her gun violence plan, which outlines how she plans to reduce gun deaths by 80%. Part of her plan calls for closing the so-called boyfriend loophole that allows access to guns by those convicted of domestic crimes. It would also ban assault weapons and require universal background checks, among others.

“We have a gun violence problem in America today. We talk a lot about mass shootings — and mass shootings are a terrible thing — but we also have other gun issues,” she said. “ … When we think about domestic violence, we also have to think about gun safety and how to reduce the availability of guns.”

Warren is wrapping up a two-day swing in Iowa, which began with a town hall in Des Moines on Saturday and finishes with an event in Council Bluffs on Sunday.

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Kim Norvell covers growth and development for the Register. Reach her at knorvell@dmreg.com or 515-284-8259.

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