Violence Against Women Act clears House

The House voted Thursday to renew the lapsed Violence Against Women Act, but the proposal stoked contention over provisions restricting gun rights and expanding rights for transgender individuals.Lawmakers voted 263-158 to pass the measure, which highlighted divisions within the Republican caucus. While the bill does have one Republican co-sponsor, Pennsylvania’s Brian Fitzpatrick[1], other House Republicans objected to new provisions included in the VAWA reauthorization measure. In all, 33 Republicans voted for the measure, and one, Jeff Fortenberry[2] of Nebraska, voted present.The most contentious provision would lower the criminal threshold to bar someone from buying a gun to include misdemeanor convictions of domestic abuse of stalking. The law currently applies to felony convictions.“It is not the time to hold the safety of women as a bargaining chip against infringements on religious liberty or weakening of the Second Amendment,” said Rep. Carol Miller[3], R-W.Va. on the floor Wednesday.The bill would also close the so-called “boyfriend loophole” to expand gun prohibitions to include dating partners convicted of abuse or stalking charges.“Why would you not close a simple loophole that says if someone has been convicted — convicted, not accused! — convicted of domestic violence, that they not have access to a gun,” said Rep. Debbie Dingell[4], D-Mich. She has shared her experiences of growing up with an abusive father who owned a gun.“I know that fear, I know that terror — and I just want to save another family from that terror,” Rep. Dingell said.The firearms provisions led the National Rifle Association to weigh in on the measure and “score” how lawmakers voted on the bill, which will impact NRA ratings that are often touted during elections.“Do not let the NRA bully you,” Dingell told her House colleagues Thursday ahead of the vote on VAWA, referencing her late husband. “John Dingell was on

Read more from our friends at the NRA...