05/27/2021
The mass shooting in San Jose last night was done by someone whose ex-girlfriend filed to get a restraining order against him in 2009 due to his "volatile and violent" nature.
This is another one of those moments when we can see a clear connection between domestic violence and a mass shooting event, so we want to point out that the U.S. Senate has yet to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act or "VAWA," which has been U.S. law for over 25 years.
VAWA expands the options a judge has when making sentencing decisions about abusers and provides critical federal funding for domestic violence shelters and hotlines.
The reauthorization of the act recently passed the U.S. House (despite significant pushback from GOP Representatives) and is now sitting in the Senate. Those close to the bill say it's currently unlikely to get the 60 votes needed to clear the filibuster hurdle.
That's because after years of being easily reauthorized by Congress in a strongly bipartisan way, the Violence Against Women Act now includes a research-backed provision that would prevent abusers from buying and owning guns. The NRA doesn't like that and has threatened Senators with lowering their NRA ratings if they vote to reauthorize VAWA.
In response, we've put together list of all the U.S. Senators who are most likely to vote against reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act, plus a list of some of the U.S. companies that support them. A link to these lists is included in the comments.
In general, with everything we put out there, we aim to give you some positive, proactive steps you can take — some ways you can make your voice heard and flex your power within corporate and political landscapes.
If you know someone who has been impacted by domestic violence, please consider taking a few minutes to reach out to a few of these U.S. Senators and/or U.S. companies to share your concerns. If we put some positive pressure on them, we might just get the 60 votes needed to get the Violence Against Women Act reauthorized.
