The United States House of Representatives will soon vote on the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) -- with some enhancements this time around.
The new act, recently approved in the Senate, would offer additional protections to the LGBT community and Native Americans. It would, for example, finally allow tribal courts to pursue non-Native men who attack Native American women on their own reservations, something that should have been in place a long time ago.
Despite these clear improvements to the law, House Republicans are currently opposing it.
Three women a day are killed by husbands or boyfriends; one in five women have been raped. American women deserve to be protected under law, and it is unconscionable for legislators to further delay that.
Tell the House to sign new VAWA into law immediately.
We the undersigned respectfully ask that you reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act.
The act has already passed the Senate. The reauthorized bill not only affirms the United States' firm resolve to protect women, it expands the protections of the original bill. Members of the LGBT community and Native Americans will benefit from these much needed improvements to the act.
President Obama has strongly urged the reauthorization of this act, and we wholeheartedly agree with him. It's time to protect women from violence!
