Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Why Did Joe Heck Vote to Allow Violence Against Women?

So Joe Heck just voted to play games with Nevada women's lives. He's refused to allow reauthorize a true, comprehensive Violence Against Women Act (VAWA.). Oh yes, that's right. Apparently, preventing domestic violence has just become another political football for Joe Heck and his fellow teabaggers in Congress.

What's really horrifying about this "tea party" approved VAWA would notify abusers that their victims called for help. It would also allow domestic violence Against LGBTQ Americans to continue unchecked. This is really extreme ideology that has no place in public policy or law enforcement.

Even Dean Heller agreed to the more comprehensive and just Senate version of VAWA that kept the "tea party" crazy at bay. And now, one of his GOP Senate colleagues, Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), is asking the House to drop the nonsense and agree to the bipartisan Senate bill. Here's a key excerpt from the letter she just signed onto.

We should not let politics pick and choose which victims of abuse to help and which to ignore. Each previous reauthorization substantially improved the way VAWA addressed the changing needs of domestic violence victims by addressing challenges facing older victims, victims with disabilities, and other underserved groups. The Senate’s bipartisan VAWA Reauthorization Act continues this tradition by placing greater emphasis on training for law enforcement and forensic response to sexual assault, and by strengthening protections for all victims regardless of where they live, or their race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation.

So what does Joe Heck have against Nevada's women? This is becoming more of a habit for him. Perhaps instead of voting to allow violence against minority and LGBTQ women in Nevada, Joe Heck should get a reality check on what Nevadans actually want to see happening in Congress.

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