In the News

By Bruce Alpert

 

Washington -- Half the six-member Louisiana House delegation voted against a Senate bill designed to protect victims of sexual assault, domestic violence and stalking. Still, the bill passed 286-138 Thursday, with 87 Republicans joining 199 Democrats in voting yes.

 

President Barack Obama said he would sign the measure into law.

 

Voting against the bill were Reps. Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson; Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, and John Fleming, R-Minden. All three said the Senate bill went too far. Cassidy and Fleming are considered potential 2014 opponents to Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., a strong supporter of the bill.

 

Voting for the legislation were Reps. Cedric Richmond, D-New Orleans; Charles Boustany, R-Lafayette and Rodney Alexander, R-Quitman.

 

The measure extends the 1994 Violence Against Women Act in some significant ways.

 

It provides services to the victims of domestic and dating violence, adding protection no matter their sexual orientation or gender. It also allows Native American tribes to prosecute non-Indian defendants for crimes related to domestic violence.

 

The bill also authorizes programs to prevent human trafficking, sexual assault on college campuses, and for dealing with shortages of rape kits used for victims of sexual assault.

 

The three Louisiana Republicans who voted against the bill voted for a GOP alternative, which removed language related to gender identity and sexual identification and giving the national American tribes the authority to try non-Indian defendants.

 

That measure failed 257-166, with 60 Republicans voting no.

 

Since the 2012 votes, Republicans lost the presidential race to President Obama and a good deal of the blame rests with Obama's 55-45 advantage with women voters.

 

Some Republicans didn't want another rejection of the Violence Against Women Act in 2013. The bill's passage marked the third time that Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, has allowed a bill to pass with a majority of Democratic votes and minority of GOP votes.

 

Richmond said the GOP-led House, which failed to pass the Senate bill in the last Congress, did the right thing by enacting it now.

 

"I was proud to cast my vote in support of the Senate's version of the Violence Against Women Act," Richmond said. "This is a major accomplishment in the fight to protect and provide assistance to the victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking and dating violence. We have an obligation to ensure the protection of women in Louisiana and across the nation from senseless acts of violence."

 

Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Wisc., a victim of domestic and sexual violence, said that all victims, regardless of race or sexual orientation, deserve protection and aren't included in the GOP alternative.

 

"I pray that this body will do as the Senate has done and come together to protect all women from violence," Moore said. "As I think about the L.G.BT (Lesbian, Gay, Bixexual and Transgender) victims who are not here, the native women who are not here, the immigrants who aren't in this bill, I would say, as Sojourner Truth would say, 'Ain't they women? Ain't they women?"

 

Doug Sachtleben, Fleming's spokesman, said the Senate version unnecessarily created specially protected classes beyond the scope of the bill. John Cummins, spokesman for Cassidy said he was concerned the Senate version would discriminate against faith-based organizations.

 

Scalise also raised the issue of whether religious organizations opposed to gay rights could provide serevices to victims of violence.

 

"As a father and a husband I was happy to support the House's Violence Against Women bill, and voted against the Senate version that promoted an extreme liberal social agenda and, like the Family Research Council pointed out, was more focused on weakening laws and denying grants to some of the organizations that are best equipped to fight human trafficking simply because of their religious affiliations," Scalise said.

 

Obama praised the House vote.

 

"Over more than two decades, this law has saved countless lives and transformed the way we treat victims of abuse," the president said. "Today's vote will go even further by continuing to reduce domestic violence, improving how we treat victims of rape, and extending protections to Native American women and members of the LGBT community. The bill also reauthorizes the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, providing critical support for both international and domestic victims of trafficking and helping ensure traffickers are brought to justice."