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Republican Gary Palmer, left, is running against Democrat Mark Lester, right, for Alabama's 6th district congressional seat. (AL.com)

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama – An answer that Alabama 6th Congressional district candidate Gary Palmer gave on an Eagle Forum questionnaire is the subject of an attack by his opponent Thursday.

On a questionnaire by the conservative group Eagle Forum, Palmer, a Republican, indicated that he would "vote to defund the Violence Against Women Act." The questionnaire additionally says that VAWA is "widely known as 'feminist pork.'"

VAWA, first signed into law in 1994 by then-President Bill Clinton, created a federal rape shield law, funded domestic violence prevention programs and crisis centers, legal aid, and other services for victims of domestic violence (of any gender). A 2013 reauthorization of VAWA expanded the bill to include gays and lesbians, undocumented immigrants, and Native Americans who live on reservations.

Palmer's opponent, Democrat Mark Lester, called for a strengthening of VAWA in the wake of the NFL's recent Ray Rice domestic abuse scandal.

"Over the last two decades, this act has worked to save innocent women from violent attacks, and it can do even more if properly supported," Lester said in a statement Thursday. "My opponent, Gary Palmer, takes a different view. More than almost any other issue in this campaign, I stand in contrast to his position."

"His callous disregard for the well-being of women is not puzzling, it's downright dangerous," Lester stated.

Lester, a Birmingham-Southern College history professor and a former assistant U.S. attorney, argued for a "zero tolerance" policy on domestic violence. He said that Congress needs to "increase, not cut" support for community domestic violence prevention programs, and expand it to include "crimes against women on college campuses" and allow federal courts to hear interstate sexual assault and abuse cases.

Palmer, the chief development officer of the Alabama Policy Institute, also indicated on the questionnaire that he would vote to abolish the U.S. Department of Education, oppose the Common Core curriculum, reinstate the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy discriminating against homosexuals in the U.S. military, and that he would vote to stop babies born to illegal aliens on American soil from automatically becoming citizens.

The 2013 VAWA reauthorization bill received limited support from Alabama's Republicans in the U.S. Senate and House. In Alabama's Congressional delegation, only two of the seven Republicans supported the 2013 VAWA reauthorization – U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby and U.S. Rep. Spencer Bachus. The delegation's only Democrat, U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell, also supported reauthorization.

Lester and Palmer are running to replace Bachus, who is retiring at the end of this term.

They will face off in the general election on Tuesday, Nov. 4.

Eagle Forum Questionnaire--Gary Palmer by Madison Underwood