HR 4970 Drafted by Republicans to Strip Protections for Immigrant, Tribal, and Gay and Transgender Women

Today Legal Momentum announced its opposition to HR 4970, the bill to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act that Rep. Sandy Adams (R-FL) and several other House members introduced in lieu of a much stronger Senate version of the bill that recently passed.

"The bill is regressive," said Elizabeth Grayer, president of Legal Momentum. "We have fought for over two decades to expand domestic and sexual violence protections to all communities that need them. Yet the Adams bill ignores communities that desperately need the services VAWA provides, including the LGBT community. Immigrant women who are survivors of violence also face more risk if this bill is enacted. Indefensibly, the bill leaves Native American women vulnerable and subject to domestic violence by failing to give local law enforcement the legal authority to protect them. This proposal endangers countless communities in the U.S., and must be stopped. We call on the House Judiciary Committee to defeat this dangerous proposal next week, and instead vote for Rep. Gwen Moore’s bill, HR 4271, which truly reflects VAWA’s purpose of protecting all survivors across the nation.”