GOP Continues Its War On Women

The chart above (from the website of The American Prospect) shows the shocking figures on domestic violence in the United States (with each of the tiny red dots standing for one death). All of the people in this country killed by terrorist acts (3,073) combined with all of the U.S. troops killed in both the Iraq and Afghanistan wars (6,488) only adds up to 9,561 deaths -- far short of the 11,766 American women killed in domestic violence incidents in that same time period.

The Republican Party didn't have any problem funding both of the unnecessary wars. The GOP never met a war it didn't like, even if they accomplish nothing and cost thousands of Americans their lives. But when it comes to spending far less money to save the lives of thousands of American women, the congressional Republicans aren't on board. They would rather play politics with the issue than save women's lives.

It is time for the government to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) -- a bill that in the past has had bipartisan support. But when the bill was written this time, it was written in such a way as to include all women, including groups that had not been protected in the past (like immigrant women, members of the LGBT community, and Native American women married to non-Native Americans).

The Republicans have decided to play politics in this election year, and in a nod to their hard-hearted teabagger base, they have decided that only some women deserve to be protected against domestic violence (and that does not include immigrant women, women in same-sex relationships, or Native American women). Evidently they think its perfectly OK for these women to be beaten and/or killed.

The House Republicans, evidently feeling the heat for doing nothing on the bill, finally passed a scaled-down version of the bill (which cut out the groups discussed above). The bill will probably now go to a Senate/House conference committee to try and work out a bill that can be passed in both Houses and signed into law. But there seems to be little chance of that happening. The Senate (and the president) want all women included, while the House still thinks only groups they approve of should be protected.

This is just one more reason why the Republicans must be defeated in the November elections.