(Updated)
Last week, Congress passed The Violence Against Women Act, and sent it to the President. This week, President Obama signed the bill, and made it law. That's how we'd like to see government work. The signing of this renewed legislation is a positive step for women, the country, and human rights.
Surprisingly, The Violence Against Women Act was argued, and the names of Congress members who opposed the bill, are now circulating the internet: http://thinkprogress.org/... Ironically, some who voted against the bill have been trying to take credit for its passing, and social media is showing them no mercy.
Vice President Biden (who first introduced the act 19 years ago) stood by, as the President discussed new strengths of the bill.
“We'll expand on them to cover even more women, because this is a country where everybody should be able to pursue their own measure of happiness and live their lives free from fear, no matter who you are, no matter who you love,” Obama said.
Reauthorization of The Violence Against Women Act will make it easier to prosecute crimes against women, as well as extend protections to gays, lesbians, and Native American women who are abused by non-tribal residents. The law also addresses sex trafficking, authorizes additional funds for rape investigations, adds stalking to the list of crimes, makes immigrants eligible for protection, and will allow for more educational programs to help reduce sexual assaults on college campuses. $659 million of funding per year, for five years, will aid programs for legal assistance, law enforcement training, transitional housing, and hotlines.
To become more educated on this new law, and violence against women:
Visit: TheHotline.Org: http://www.thehotline.org/...
1.800.799.SAFE (National Domestic Violence Hotline)
Credits:
http://abcnews.go.com/...
http://www.washingtontimes.com/...
TheHotLine.Org
Kossack: JekyllnHyde