“I rise today to join a strong and growing group of my colleagues in support of the Violence Against Women Act. A common-sense bill that since it was first signed into law has always been in issue that we can build a consensus around, both Democrats and Republicans alike. And the reason for this is quite simple- there’s no room for tolerance of violence against women in the home anywhere in our society.
And when we’re talking about the safety of our families, there’s simply no space for partisanship. That’s why I’m calling on my colleagues to not seek to block or delay this important piece of legislation any further. To do so is a disservice to the families so deeply affected by domestic violence every single day. Anyone who is guilty of domestic abuse should be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law. Any victim of abuse should be empowered to speak out and to have access to help and support.
Keeping women and families safe is a basic, common-sense principle and one that we have easily found agreement on since the bill was first passed and we should be able to agree on it again today. Every day, an average of three women are murdered, by a husband, a boyfriend, a partner. Every single day, 600 women are raped or sexually assaulted.
Millions of women and families rely on the help and support that the Violence Against Women Act provides, to keep them safe. It’s outrageous to turn the Violence Against Women Act into a political circus- when we allow ourselves to get bogged down on politics as usual, we’re telling women and families across the country that their safety can wait for the next election. Let’s do better. Let’s be better. Let’s agree that women deserve access to basic justice and basic safety. And let’s show the American people that we, as a body, can do the right thing.”
—Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-New York), floor speech in support of VAWA, April 18th, 2012 (
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