Murray Takes On ‘Out-Of-Touch, Extremist’ Conservatives On VAWA

Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) on Monday responded fiercely to the conservative advocacy groups who are whipping against the Violence Against Women Act by arguing that the Senate’s reauthorization would unncessarily expand the scope of the law and treat men unfairly.

“It is really quite insulting to the millions of women who would be covered under this new legislation,” Murray told TPM in a statement. “Are these out-of-touch, extremist groups prepared to tell Native American women that the new provisions aimed at protecting them are ‘unnecessary’ — when one in three of them will be raped in their lifetime? These women live on lands that are hours away from the nearest federal prosecutors. And for non-tribal members on these lands who perpetrate violent crimes against the women living there, this equates to nothing short of a safe-haven. Free from tribal jurisdiction, these are places where they can repeatedly commit horrific acts without being afraid of being brought to justice.”

“VAWA has attained such broad support because it’s worked,” she said. “It has never been a political football and we cannot start picking winners and losers on who gets these critical protections.”

Latest Livewire
Comments
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Associate Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: