Criminal Justice & Civil Rights

By Robert Pear WASHINGTON — After a fierce fight, full of gender politics, the House passed a Republican bill on Wednesday to combat violence against women, over objections from President Obama and other Democrats, who said it would reduce protections for many battered women, including lesbians, American Indians and illegal immigrants. The 222-to-205 vote clears the way for negotiations with the Senate, which passed a more expansive version last month by a vote of 68 to 31. Some version of the l... Read more

LAURIE KELLMAN, Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans set up a showdown Wednesday with the Senate and President Barack Obama over legislation to protect women from domestic violence, a fight that's become as much about female voters this election year as cracking down on abuse. The House voted 222-205 to reauthorize the 1994 Violence Against Women Act for five years, as the Senate already had done. But big differences remain: Obama, other Democrats and a long list of advocacy gro... Read more

Today, Congresswoman Gwen Moore (WI-4) released the following statement saluting President Obama for his efforts to thwart domestic violence. Read more

By Brian Browdie Law first passed in 1994 that provides protections for victims of domestic abuse, sexual assault and stalking A Wisconsin congresswoman hoped to gain support for a domestic abuse law by sharing her own story of sexual abuse and rape. During a House floor speech on Wednesday, Rep. Gwen Moore, a Wisconsin Democrat, told her tale as part of her party's push to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act, a federal law first passed in 1994 that provides protections for victims of do... Read more

By: Darius DixonMarch 29, 2012 11:33 AM EDT A day after recounting the story of her own rape and childhood sexual assaults on the House floor, Rep. Gwen Moore said Thursday that violence against women is as “American as apple pie.” “Violence against women is as American as apple pie,” the Wisconsin Democrat said on CNN. “That man that feels he has a right to abuse his wife, to beat her – you know, ask the pastor, ‘Where I do find that passage ‘wives obey your husbands’ in the Bible.’” On Wednes... Read more

By Veronica Wells In a courageous move, Democratic representative, Gwen Moore of Wisconsin, stood before Congress yesterday and revealed her own history with sexual abuse and rape. She did so to show support for the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act. The act, which originally passed in 1994, has been a point of contention for some Republicans since 2005, presumably because new provisions seek to protect gays, lesbians and illegal immigrant women. Last month, when the Senate voted... Read more

By Dominique Paul NothEditor, Labor Press Gwen Moore has never ducked being a victim of sexual assault and often credited a network of women with helping her escape domestic abuse. But she has never elaborated on her own lifelong experience with sexual assault and rape as she did in a House floor speech March 28 supporting the previously bipartisan Violence Against Women Act. The fact that the act was being treated as a political football because it expanded to protect more women clearly angere... Read more

Rep. Gwen Moore took to the House floor Wednesday to share her personal experience of sexual assault. She tells Patricia Murphy why the Violence Against Women Act must be passed—and how this Congress has a preoccupation with ‘putting women in their place.’ by Patricia Murphy | March 29, 2012 12:13 AM EDT Rep. Gwen Moore is a feisty, hard-charging, unapologetically liberal Democrat from Wisconsin. But as she told me during an interview in Washington, she is also a survivor of a lifetime of viole... Read more

By Ben Terris Before introducing the Violence Against Women Act on Wednesday, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said, “All Americans are entitled to feel safe in their workplace, in their homes, and walking on our street.” “Yet too many women continue to live in fear. And that is why we must reauthorize, and strengthen and pass the Violence Against Women Act,” Pelosi, D-Calif., said at a news conference with House Democrats. Pelosi may have introduced the subject, but it was Rep. Gwen Moore’s ... Read more

By Pete Kasperowicz - 03/28/12 02:39 PM ET The House on Wednesday afternoon officially began the annual budget debate by approving a rule that sets up four hours of debate on the Republicans' preferred budget, and allows for consideration of six alternative budget plans. Members approved the rule in a 241-184 vote, following a brief debate in which Democrats accused Republicans of proposing a bill that would hurt people who depend on federal spending. "A budget's a reflection of our values," sa... Read more