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The “burn-it-down” people are good with that until they become part of the kindling.

We know you aren’t a Democrat but since you seem confused let me help you.

Trumpflation is an intolerable hardship for every American, and it’s Trump’s fault.

When do we start airlifting the women and children out of Texas?

Today in our ongoing national embarrassment…

You cannot shame the shameless.

I have other things to bitch about but those will have to wait.

Second rate reporter says what?

Michigan is a great lesson for Dems everywhere: when you have power…use it!

Come on, man.

If senate republicans had any shame, they’d die of it.

“Perhaps I should have considered other options.” (head-desk)

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Balloon Juice, where there is always someone who will say you’re doing it wrong.

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So it was an October Surprise A Day, like an Advent calendar but for crime.

Giving up is unforgivable.

You are here: Home / Civil Rights / Women's Rights / The War On Women / Senate Passes VAWA; 22 Male Senators Voted Against It

Senate Passes VAWA; 22 Male Senators Voted Against It

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The Senate passed the Violence Against Women Act, with no help from these 22 assholes:

VAWA Vote

 

 

And if you want to know just how far some men will go to protect their right to abuse women, listen to FreedomWorks keen about how VAWA is unfair to men:

FreedomWorks also worried that the legislation would be unfair to men.

“The newest version of the VAWA, S.47, contains very vague and broad definitions of domestic violence,” the organization wrote. “A man that raises his voice at his partner, calls her an offensive name, stalks her, causes her any emotional distress, or simply just annoys her can potentially be prosecuted under the VAWA. Calling your spouse a mean name is not advised or polite, but it isn’t the same thing as violence towards her.”

Yeah… except that’s total horseshit:

In response, the National Task Force to End Sexual and Domestic Violence Against Women (NTF) — a coalition of more than 250 national, tribal and local advocacy organizations — called Heritage’s claims “egregious” and accused it of “misrepresent[ing] the truth.”

NTF documented evidence of VAWA’s success and its constitutionality, and called Heritage Action’s claim of an excessively broad definition for domestic violence “a complete fabrication.” It said: “There is no such change to the definition of ‘domestic violence’ proposed in S.47. The current definition of domestic violence is limited ‘to felony or misdemeanor crimes of violence.’”

Keep it up, assholes.

[via Think Progress]

[cross-posted at ABLC]

Reader Interactions

70Comments

  3. 3.

    NonyNony

    “A man that raises his voice at his partner, calls her an offensive name, stalks her, causes her any emotional distress, or simply just annoys her can potentially be prosecuted under the VAWA.

    Did this asshole just say that it’s a fucking problem that abusive assholes can be prosecuted for stalking their victims?

    Un-freaking-believable.

    If you are stalking your “partner” you’re an asshole. Also you don’t have a “partner” in any meaningful sense of the word.

  5. 5.

    Ben Franklin

    They prefer a Golden Age when females had no property rights and could not vote.

    The fear of an Amazonian/Maternalistic world haunts them.

  8. 8.

    Anna in PDX

    Although it is named the “Violence against women act” because most domestic violence is against women, it actually protects against domestic violence towards men as well. Which is not only not unheard of but is getting more common. Claiming it is damaging to *men* is just ludicrous. If they were honest they would say that they feel that it is damaging to abusers and those are the only people they want to protect.

  9. 9.

    MikeJ

    @NonyNony:

    If you are stalking your “partner” you’re an asshole.

    They believe “partner” means “the girl across the alley who doesn’t draw her curtains”.

  11. 11.

    Mike in NC

    @Kristin:

    Wait, stalking is ok?

    Well, IOKIYAR, we must assume.

    This list includes Rubio, Coburn, Paul, Turtleface, and Lady Lindsay. Big surprise.

  16. 16.

    bemused

    These senators must believe stalking or any violence towards women could never happen to their daughters, wives, any family or friends. Pretty cold to dismiss that possibility for political reasons.

    This vote plus Cruz and Inhofe being asshole wingnuts in the Hagel hearing in one day has been jaw dropping. Ugly.

  17. 17.

    Commenting at Balloon Juice since 1937

    There is no GOP war against women.
    There is no GOP war against women.
    There is no GOP war against women.
    There is no GOP war against women.
    .
    .
    .

  19. 19.

    Helen Bedd

    Here’s the list, broken down by region

    West:
    Jim Risch (Id)
    Orrin Hatch (Ut)
    Mike Lee (Ut)
    John Barrasso (Wy)
    Mike Enzi (Wy)

    Plains:
    Chuck Grassley (Ia)
    Pat Roberts (Ks)
    Roy Blunt (Mo)
    Mike Johanns (Ne)

    Midwest:
    Ron Johnson (Wi)

    South:
    John Boozman (Ar)
    Jeff Sessions (Al)
    Marco Rubio (Fl)
    Mitch McConnell (Ky)
    Rand Paul (Ky)
    Lindsey Graham (SC)
    Tim Scott (Sc)
    Tom Coburn (Ok)
    James Inhofe (Ok)
    John Cornyn (Tx)
    Ted Cruz (Tx)

    One blue state vote, two swing state votes [including “moderate” Rubio], 19 red state votes.
    No “no” votes from New England, The Northeast, The Mid-Altantic or the West Coast….and one lonely vote from the upper Midwest.

    All the female Senators voted yes.

  21. 21.

    Ella in New Mexico

    We in the anti-Domestic Violence movement fought these same, stupid ideas in the original push for the VAWA. I can’t believe these morons think no one has a memory in this country.

  24. 24.

    Bighorn Ordovican Dolomite

    @Kristin:
    Yeah that pretty much jumps out doesn’t it? Words fail. I’d like to make some bitter joke about this, but the vileness of this just pretty much precludes it.

  27. 27.

    Hungry Joe

    From a Kos post: “House Majority Leader Eric Cantor is allegedly on the case, trying to get the Violence Against Women [Act] reauthorized.”

    “Eric Cantor is allegedly on the case”! That line just kills me, and probably will for the rest of day.

  31. 31.

    Patricia Kayden

    I’m shocked that the Senate passed it. Great. Wonder what Boehner is going to do now. I can’t see T’Baggers passing it.

  32. 32.

    Matthew Reid Krell

    A thought: if your Gooper Senator voted the right way, call and tell the staffer you appreciated their vote on VAWA.

    Gives you more credibility the next time Tim F. whips us to call Senators about something we want them to do, AND helps establish your reputation with the staff as someone who’s not just a crank.

    You may disagree, but I will call both my Republican Senators and thank them for their VAWA vote. Regardless of whether they were needed, doing the right thing ought to trigger an attaboy.

  33. 33.

    Comrade Dread

    @NonyNony:

    If you are stalking your “partner” you’re an asshole. Also you don’t have a “partner” in any meaningful sense of the word.

    Sure you do. She just doesn’t know it… yet. But she will… she will…

    /creepy Freedomworks guy schtick

  35. 35.

    Full Metal Wingnut

    There is an accidental partial truth there. The definition of domestic violence is difficult to pin down. I work with a woman who is involved with violence against women services in Central America and they don’t call it domestic violence. If you look at gender violence internationally, nomenclature is a problem.

  38. 38.

    Ben Franklin

    @Cacti:

    It seems Dorner invaded a home, tied up two occupants, then stole their car/truck.

    It’s a good thing they weren’t armed. This sort of home invasion never happens.

  40. 40.

    UpisDown

    Holy smoke … for once both my senators, Flake and McCain, are on the right side of things. Is something freezing over somewhere?

  44. 44.

    Full Metal Wingnut

    @Ben Franklin: I’m not familiar with your history so I don’t know how you meant the post. But I for one am not against weapons for home defense. I think that if someone tries to tie you up in your own home you have the right to shoot them. Granted, confronting a man like that is probably dangerous, but if that’s a risk you’re willing to take I don’t think you should be stopped. I’m in favor of stricter regulations and banning handguns and concealed carry. But I was in South Florida during Hurricane Andrew. That was a shitshow. My old man had to use his shotgun to get people out of our house. That left an impression.

  45. 45.

    Aji

    @Matthew Reid Krell: You should. Thank you for doing that. This is one of those instances where EVERYBODY who votes on the right side of something deserves a thank-you.

    /personal hobbyhorse. [I’ve worked on these issues for years, particularly regarding NDN women, and the outrageous attitudes and behavior by the Republicans obstructing the VAWA reauth has really gotten to me.]

  46. 46.

    Cacti

    @Ben Franklin:

    It’s a good thing they weren’t armed. This sort of home invasion never happens.

    Not sure where you’re going with this one.

    Is it that the victims should have been armed, because when both sides are armed, the good guy always wins?

  47. 47.

    Elizabelle

    Here’s a NYTimes summary of the vote.

    Republicans voting for:

    David Vitter of Louisiana (!), both senators from Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee and Arizona (President McCain and Jeff Flake).

    Richard Shelby of Alabama. Dan Coats of Indiana.

    Some surprises there.

    Actually, South Carolina and Kentucky are the only Southern states where both senators voted against VAWA. We know they’re considered wingnut central, and McConnell and Graham fear being picked off by teahadists in the 2014 primaries.

    Utah, Wyoming, Texas, Oklahoma: 2 male GOP votes each against.

    Not a single Republican female senator voted against.

    I see some progress in this vote.

  48. 48.

    Ben Franklin

    @Cacti:

    I live a short distance from Big Bear and when this story first broke I stated that I am keeping the doors locked, weapons ready. Several seemed to believe it was paranoid as such situations rarely happen.

  49. 49.

    Phoenician in a time of Romans

    Ironically, the vast majority of those 22 have faces that look just MADE for punching…

  51. 51.

    Elizabelle

    @Anna in PDX:

    Not a handsome man.

    Roy Blunt would scare you, if you opened your shades and he was standing outside. (Stalking you, even.)

    And he does look like a pixie or some spokescartoon, like Snarky Kilowatt or whatever.

  54. 54.

    kay

    Really surprised they included stalking.

    I think there’s broad recognition that stalking is an intimidation tactic that intrudes on the right of others to be left alone, even if it doesn’t end in violence, which of course it often does.

  55. 55.

    johnny aquitard

    @Full Metal Wingnut:

    Granted, confronting a man like that is probably dangerous, but if that’s a risk you’re willing to take I don’t think you should be stopped.

    There are risks you take for yourself alone, and then there are risks that you think you’re taking for yourself, but by doing so you are exposing others to those risks.

    I don’t know his situation either, but if there are others in the house, it’s more than just a gunfight involving just him and Dorner. He confronts this guy with a gun and a prudent person can assume there will be a gunfight.

    Does he assume 1) he’ll never lose and 2) neither of them will ever miss.

    If neither of them miss, it kinda puts #1 in doubt, don’t it? And if either of them misses, it puts everyone else in the house at risk.

    But maybe he’s already thought of that.

  56. 56.

    johnny aquitard

    @kay:

    Really surprised they included stalking.

    Well, these are the guys who make a distinction between “rape” and “legitimate rape”.

  58. 58.

    kay

    @johnny aquitard:

    Right. Someone may want to sit them down and give them the “stalking talk” sometime after “the rape talk”.

    I live in a conservative county and stalking is taken quite seriously. That’s a result of hard lessons learned when it wasn’t taken seriously.

  61. 61.

    Full Metal Wingnut

    @Cacti: You’re coming awfully close to a straw man there. I would never argue that the good guy always wins, just that you should have the option to defend yourself at home (with strict limits in the weapons and grades of ammunition you can use of course). I’m for gun control, but I’m not for this sort of R vs. D blindly take your team’s side. I don’t think people should use guns outside of their home unless they’re hunting. But if Ben Franklin wants to use a gun to defend himself against Dorner, I think he should be able to. Even if there’s a strong risk Dorner is better than him at shooting, and hurts or kills him, it should be up to Ben Franklin to decide to take that risk for himself. Protect people from other people, sure, but only protect people from themselves in limited circumstances.

  63. 63.

    kay

    @johnny aquitard:

    Stalkers are really persistent bullies. A subset of a larger category, IMO. The relentless nature is what drives the target nuts. The every-fucking- DAY-ness of it.

    In any event. I think the 22 will probably have to defend this notion that it’s a minor annoyance. Not mainstream or supported by reality.

  64. 64.

    Nerull

    I’m sure that if the couple had been fumbling for weapons when the well armed trained killer entered their house everything would have turned out much better.

  65. 65.

    Mike in NC

    Looking at this assemblage of maggots, no doubt most of them have raped or at least roughed up some woman at some time in their lives, but no doubt the bitch had it coming, right?

  66. 66.

    Citizen_X

    @Nerull:

    I’m sure that if the couple had been fumbling for weapons when the well armed trained killer and former SWAT team member who undoubtedly has had experience in “dynamic entry” tactics entered their house everything would have turned out much better.

    Some more pertinent detail.

  67. 67.

    gbear

    The Washington Post story started out with “The Senate has agreed to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act, showing bipartisan support…”

    I kind of stopped bothering to read after that. The comments are putrid.

Comments are closed.

Trackbacks

  1. […] ABL: Listen to FreedomWorks keen about how VAWA is unfair to men: FreedomWorks also worried that the legislation would be unfair to men. “The newest version of the VAWA, S.47, contains very vague and broad definitions of domestic violence,” the organization wrote. “A man that raises his voice at his partner, calls her an offensive name, stalks her, causes her any emotional distress, or simply just annoys her can potentially be prosecuted under the VAWA. Calling your spouse a mean name is not advised or polite, but it isn’t the same thing as violence towards her.” — Which is complete horseshit. […]