Marco Rubio votes against Violence Against Women

Why would 2016 presidential contender Sen. Marco Rubio from Florida be against a congressional bill that attempts to protect women against violence? Seriously, how can he be against this?

A man who has shown he can be on both sides of important issues (see immigration) seems lost when it comes to women voters in this country. Has he not studied the November results? Or possibly nobody’s told him that a coalition of black, Hispanic and women voters has been given a great deal of responsibility for President Obama’s surprisingly large victory at the polls last November.

And I understand that the group least talked about from the abovementioned coalition may be the women voters. But they also happen to be a majority of the voters in the U.S.

It was not surprising that before the 2012 presidential election President Obama and congressional democrats had been hammering the message that the Republican Party was waging war against women’s rights. Abortion, the definition of rape, equal pay were all issues democrats brought to the forefront in defense of women.

I’m glad to say that many republicans have learned from their mistakes. An example occurred last week when Huffington Post reported that “the Senate on Thursday easily passed legislation to renew the Violence Against Women Act for another four years, an issue that normally advances with little fanfare but has become a focal point amid election-year politicking.

“The bill passed 68-31. Several Republicans sided with Democrats in passing the bill,” the Huffington Post informed us.

Off that list, surprisingly, was Marco Rubio. The Florida senator voted against it.

Personally, I don’t quite understand it. How can ANYONE vote against a bill that advocates against violence on women?

I have emailed Rubio’s office for his reasoning. If I receive an answer, I’ll be glad to post it.

Alvaro F. Fernandez