WASHINGTON ― The House passed legislation Thursday to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act, despite the vast majority of Republicans opposing it amid pressure from the National Rifle Association. The bill, which reauthorizes the landmark 1994 domestic violence law for another five years, easily passed. (The vote tally is here). But 157 Republicans voted against it, along with one Democrat, Rep. Collin Peterson (Minn.). For many of them, it was because the NRA was pushing them to oppose it over its gun safety provisions and warning that a vote in favor of the bill would be reflected in their NRA rating. Under current federal law, only people convicted of domestic violence offenses against spouses or family members can lose their gun rights. The VAWA would add people convicted of abusing their dating partners, closing the so-called “boyfriend loophole.” It would also prohibit people convicted of misdemeanor stalking offenses from owning or buying firearms, as well as abusers subject to temporary protective orders. Most of the GOP caucus opposed the bill because of the gun measures, said Rep. Pete King (R-N.Y.), one of 33 Republicans who voted for it. “That seems to be the main issue,” said King, who has an F rating with the NRA. “I mean, there’s others as far as transgender [protections in the bill], but the main issue is the guns.”

Carlos Barria / Reuters It's probably not helpful for your party when you're desperate to win over female voters and you vote against renewing the Violence Against Women Act. Above, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), left, and Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) both voted against it.

The NRA has incredible sway over Republicans in Congress because of all the money it gives them ― and threatens to spend against them if they break from the group’s agenda. In the 2018 election cycle, it gave $690,950 to GOP congressional candidates versus $19,454 to Democratic congressional candidates. The gun rights organization spent nearly half a billion dollars in the 2016 election cycle, including $30 million on Donald Trump’s presidential campaign alone. Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-Pa.) said Thursday that he had concerns about the gun provisions in the VAWA bill but said they were “secondary” to other things he didn’t like. “You have so many jurisdictions of committees that this bill is intertwined [with], it’s very complicated,” said Thompson, who has an A rating with the NRA. “This hasn’t even been vetted in seven or eight other committees that may have some pieces of it.” Peterson, the lone Democrat who opposed the bill and who has an A rating with the NRA, said the gun provisions were “partisan,” and that’s why he voted no. ″I was disappointed that the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) Reauthorization was made partisan with the inclusion of language that would strip individuals’ right to due process with respect to their 2nd Amendment rights,” he said in a statement.