Hatch & Lee Vote Against Bill Protecting Women
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Washington DC – Utah GOP Senators Orrin Hatch and Mike Lee joined a minority of Senators today in voting against reauthorizing the bipartisan Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). The vote passed in the US Senate with 87 votes, with Hatch and Lee representing two of the 13 “nay” votes.
The Alliance for a Better UTAH believes that a vote against reauthorizing VAWA represents a callous insult not just to the women of Utah but also to the entire population of Utah and the United States.
“Since its original passage in 1994, VAWA has represented a bipartisan effort to reduce violence against women. And it has worked – non-fatal intimate partner violence against women has decreased by 53% since VAWA’s passage and multiple reauthorizations. This was clearly a bipartisan effort, yet Senators Lee and Hatch again seem more interested in partisan politics than protecting the women of Utah.” says Maryann Martindale, Executive Director of the Alliance for a Better UTAH.
In a floor speech, Senator Lee said that violence against women is a state matter and not in the purview of the Federal Government.
“The assertion that each state should be free to determine the extent of permissible violence towards women, is unconscionable” Martindale continued, “it is unfortunate that Senator Lee is willing to sacrifice the safety of the women of Utah for the sake of his personal interpretation of Constitutional law.”
Alliance for a Better UTAH | 801.427.3397 | www.betterutah.org