By Kate Ryan
NEW YORK, April 4 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - The U.S. House of Representatives passed an update to the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) on Thursday that protects transgender women, assists victims facing eviction and ends impunity for abuse of Native women on tribal lands.
The act, originally signed into law in 1994, criminalized physical abuse against women at the federal level and provided government funding for victim services, advocate training, shelters and prevention education.
Funding for the bill lapsed at the end of 2018.
"In the 25 years since it was enacted, violence against women by a spouse or an intimate partner has dropped by 65 percent," said Representative Debbie Dingell, speaking from the House floor on Thursday morning.
"We need to build on that progress."
This year's extension had largely bipartisan support, with the main sticking point being a provision closing the "boyfriend loophole", which allows convicted stalkers and some abusers to buy and keep guns.
Currently, only abusers who are married to, living with, or have a child with their partner are prevented from owning firearms.
"We are trying to save lives," said Dingell on Wednesday in front of the U.S. Capitol.
"Why would you not close a simple loophole that says if someone has been convicted - convicted, not accused - convicted of domestic violence or stalking, that they not have access to a gun?"
The National Rifle Association stated its support for VAWA, in an email to the Thomson Reuters Foundation, but said the gun control provisions politicized the issue.
"It's unfortunate that the anti-gun leadership in the U.S. House allowed to the bill to expire for the purpose of using it to advance their gun control agenda and we are hopeful the U.S. Senate will advance this important legislation without Nancy Pelosi's gun control provisions," said Jennifer Baker, an NRA spokeswoman.
In the United States, 50 women are shot and killed every month by an intimate partner or former partner, according to Everytown for Gun Safety, a non-profit that advocates for gun control in the United States.
Also, women are five times more likely to be murdered by a partner who owns a gun, according the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
The bill, which passed 263 to 158 in the 435-seat body, must still pass the Republican-controlled Senate, and be signed by President Donald Trump, a strong supporter of the NRA.
(Reporting by Kate Ryan; Editing by Jason Fields. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's and LGBT+ rights, human trafficking, property rights and climate change. Visit http://news.trust.org)
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