By Laura DeKoven Waxman
June 4, 2012

The U.S. Conference of Mayors and 60 individual mayors have weighed in on the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act now pending in Congress, urging the House to adopt legislation closer to the Senate version of the bill. In a May 15 letter to House Speaker John Boehner (OH) and Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (CA), they said that the Senate bill (S. 1925) would expand "services and assistance to those communities who experience the highest rates of violence or who have the greatest difficulty accessing services." The letter specifically called for the greater protections for lesbian, gay, and transgender communities; undocumented immigrants: and Native Americans, which the Senate bill would provide. It says:

"We believe that it is essential that VAWA’s vital services be provided to all victims regardless of group status and for that reason we strongly support the establishment of a uniform nondiscrimination provision for VAWA grant programs included in S. 1925. By replacing and clarifying the current patchwork of protections, the nondiscrimination provision will help ensure that victims are not denied services on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, or disability. This measure is needed in part to address the significant obstacles that lesbian, gay, and transgendered communities have faced in accessing services in recent years. Despite the fact that they experience domestic violence at the same rate as the general population, 45 percent of lesbian, gay, and transgendered victims are reportedly turned away when they seek help from domestic violence shelters. This type of discrimination is simply unacceptable.

estic violence shelters. This type of discrimination is simply unacceptable.

"Since its first passage, VAWA has sought to protect immigrant victims whose non-citizen status can make them especially vulnerable to crimes of domestic and sexual violence. We are greatly concerned by a provision included in the VAWA reauthorization proposed by the House of Representatives, H.R. 4970, which would roll back confidentiality protections that enable undocumented women to safely come forward and report violent crimes. Rather than reducing the outlets for these victims, VAWA reauthorization should provide additional ways for law enforcement to work with these victims to investigate and prosecute serious crimes. The Senate version includes a provision that would allow the Department of Homeland Security to draw from a pool of previously authorized but never used U visas so that law enforcement officers have the tools to work with victims and bring violent offenders to justice.

"The House bill, unlike the Senate version, also does not address the continuing challenge of violence in tribal communities. A recent study by the Center for Disease Control found that 46 percent of Native American women have experienced rape, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner in their lifetime. As with immigrant victims, VAWA has aimed to address the terribly high rates of violence against women in tribal communities. Although some progress has been made, we believe the continuing high rates of violence on tribal lands require far greater attention. This reauthorization provides an opportunity to strengthen federal law enforcement tools and to expand the capacity of tribal governments to investigate and prosecute these crimes."

Violence Against Women Act reauthorization bills have now passed both the House (HR 4970) and Senate (S 3220) and are awaiting conference. While some changes were made in the House VAWA bill relating to undocumented immigrants, those changes are not considered sufficient to provide the protections the mayors requested. While there are many differences between the House and Senate versions to be resolved by a conference committee, its work is currently stalled over a procedural issue. House leaders consider the Senate bill unconstitutional because it contains a provision that would raise fees on immigrant visas, and all revenue generating measures are supposed to originate in the House.

Mayors signing the letter were:

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa, USCM President

Philadelphia Mayor Michael A. Nutter, USCM Vice President

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg

Houston Mayor Annise D. Parker, USCM Criminal and Social Justice Committee Chair

Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino, USCM Past President

Little Rock (AR) Mayor Mark Stodola

North Little Rock (AR) Mayor Patrick Hays

Phoenix (AZ) Mayor Greg Stanton

Manhattan Beach (CA) Mayor Wayne Powell

Monrovia (CA) Mayor Mary Ann Lutz

Sacramento (CA) Mayor Kevin Johnson

San Diego (CA) Mayor Jerry Sanders

San Francisco (CA) Mayor Ed Lee

San Luis Obispo (CA) Mayor Jan Marx

Santa Barbara (CA) Mayor Helene Schneider

West Sacramento (CA) Mayor Christopher Cabaldon

Denver (CO) Mayor Michael B. Hancock

Bridgeport (CT) Mayor Bill Finch

Hartford (CT) Mayor Pedro Segarra

Washington (DC) Mayor Vincent C. Gray

Wilmington (DE) Mayor James Baker

Boca Raton (FL) Mayor Susan Whelchel

Coconut Creek (FL) Mayor Marilyn Gerber

Largo (FL) Mayor Patricia Gerard

Miramar (FL) Mayor Lori Moseley

North Miami (FL) Mayor André Pierre

Sunrise (FL) Mayor Michael Ryan

Pecatonica (IL) Mayor Shawn Connors

Waukegan (IL) Mayor Robert Sabonjian

Wheeling (IL) Mayor Judy Abruscato

Baltimore (MD) Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake

Westland (MI) Mayor William Wild

Jackson (MS) Mayor Harvey Johnson, Jr.

Missoula (MT) Mayor John Engen

Charlotte (NC) Mayor Anthony Foxx

Durham (NC) Mayor William Bell

Edison (NJ) Mayor Antonia Ricigliano

Manalapan (NJ) Mayor Susan Cohen

Las Cruces (NM) Mayor Ken Miyagishima

Albany (NY) Mayor Gerald Jennings

Binghamton (NY) Mayor Matthew Ryan

Brighton (NY) Mayor William Moehle

Niagara Falls (NY) Mayor Paul Dyster

Syracuse (NY) Mayor Stephanie Miner

Columbus (OH) Mayor Michael Coleman

Portland (OR) Mayor Sam Adams

Allentown (PA) Mayor Ed Pawlowski

Reading (PA) Mayor Vaughn Spencer

Wilkes-Barre (PA) Mayor Thomas Leighton

Gurabo (PR) Mayor Victor Ortiz

Providence (RI) Mayor Angel Taveras

Florence (SC) Mayor Stephen Wukela

Memphis (TN) Mayor AC Wharton

Laredo (TX) Mayor Raul Salinas

Port Arthur (TX) Mayor Deloris Prince

Redmond (WA) Mayor John Marchione

Seattle (WA) Mayor Michael McGinn

Milwaukee (WI) Mayor Tom Barrett

Racine (WI) Mayor John Dickert

West Allis (WI) Mayor Dan Devine