Renewal of Violence Against Women Act blocked by NRA

VAWA is stalled in Congress by Republicans in the Senate, who refuse to include greater gun restrictions that would reduce intimate partner violence. (Jorge Sobreira)

The United States has not had a working Violence Against Women Act since February, when VAWA lapsed during a rush to pass legislation to (unsuccessfully) avoid a partial government shutdown. And now, while the House has already passed a version of the act earlier this year, the Senate is refusing to take up the bill because of pressure from the National Rifle Association.



The Senate bill, sponsored by Sen. Jodi Ernst (R-Iowa), strips out House protections for women that would expand an existing ban on firearms in what is known as the “boyfriend loophole.” This “loophole” would apply an existing gun ban to people convicted of abusing their dating partners—so beyond only those who are married. The House bill would also prevent gun sales to anyone convicted of misdemeanor stalking offenses and to abusers who are under temporary protective orders. Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-Calif.), lead Senate proponent of the House bill, said Republicans in Congress are also objecting to “LGBT and tribal sovereignty provisions,” The Hill reported.

“I am sorely disappointed that we were not able to come together on a bipartisan bill,” Ernst, who is a survivor of domestic violence, told The Hill. “What [Democrats are] proceeding with is a bill full of political talking points.”

The House bill was backed by 57 domestic violence survivor groups, and 33 House Republicans voted for it, according to news reports. “This bill is not a Democratic bill,” said Feinstein. “It's not a Republican bill. This bill is a survivors’ bill. It's written with the help of survivors who know what’s needed in the real world.”

With more than four in five Native American women having experienced violence in their lifetime, removing recent VAWA protections that grant power to tribal courts to try these crimes would be a setback for justice for Native women, advocates say. “Placing paternalistic restrictions on tribal courts in the name of ‘due process’ is nothing more than a disguise for prejudice,” Mary Kathryn Nagle, a partner and counsel at the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center, told The Huffington Post.

The LGBT provision opposed by Republicans would allow groups that receive grants via VAWA to train staff on discrimination.

The very fact that Congress allowed the bill to lapse this year and refuses to pass permanent legislation has angered survivor groups. “What that shows is a lack of prioritization of domestic violence by lawmakers,” Amanda Pyron, executive director of the Chicago Metropolitan Battered Women’s Network, told the Chicago Tribune.

“The lack of a permanent reauthorization of VAWA almost seems to indicate we are going to outlive or outrun violence against women,” Pyron added.