House votes to renew ‘Violence Against Women Act’

WASHINGTON, DC – MARCH 17: House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) (R) joins Rep. Shelia Jackson Lee (D-TX) during a news conference about the renewal of the Violence Against Women Act in the Rayburn Room at the U.S. Capitol on March 17, 2021 in Washington, DC. The House of Representatives is set to vote on reauthorizing the act. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

With bipartisan support, the House approved a 1994 landmark law aimed at protecting women against domestic and sexual violence. On Wednesday, the Violence Against Women Act was reauthorized in a 244-to-172 vote.

The bill, which expired two years ago due to a government shutdown, would expand victims’ services as well as reauthorize grant programs to respond to these types of crimes. The measure would also close the so-called “boyfriend loophole” to prevent people convicted of domestic violence or abuse from owning a gun.

“87,000 women, according to the UN, are killed every year,” Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) stated. “50,000 of them are killed by an intimate partner or spouse. That means 137 women die every day by a family member.”

Despite passing in the House, the measure may hit a roadblock in the evenly divided Senate.

WASHINGTON, DC – MARCH 17: Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI) recounts her own experiences with domestic violence during a news conference with Rep. Shelia Jackson Lee (D-TX) about the renewal of the Violence Against Women Act in the Rayburn Room at the U.S. Capitol on March 17, 2021 in Washington, DC. The House of Representatives is set to vote on reauthorizing the act. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)