Hey, House GOP'How many Native women will be raped today?

Congressional Republicans headed by Eric Cantor are stalling on reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). The Senate has already passed a bill that increases protection for Native, LGBT and undocumented immigrant women.

It seems the latest sticking point is our Native sisters.

VAWA, which has been reauthorized consistently for 18 years with little fanfare, was, for the first time, left to expire in Sept. 2011. The sticking point has been new protections for three particularly vulnerable groups: undocumented immigrants, members of the LGBT community and Native Americans. The additions are supported by Democrats and opposed by House Republicans, who are calling them politically driven. The Senate passed a bipartisan bill in April with the additional protections, and House Republicans passed their own bill in May that omitted those three provisions. Since then, the issue has gone nowhere...

But two sources familiar with negotiations on VAWA, both of whom requested anonymity given the sensitive nature of talks, have told HuffPost that Cantor is refusing to accept any added protections for Native American women that would give expanded jurisdiction to tribes, and is pressuring Democrats to concede on that front.

We cannot let this happen. We are the force who must protect ALL of our sisters.

We have already seen and heard during the last election season what many Republicans think about rape. The unconscionable knuckle dragging on VAWA is yet another example.

But too many of us are still not aware of and fighting for the group of women who are the most likely to be raped, assaulted or murdered.  

This is ugly. It is time we as a nation stop ignoring ugly.

Don't look away. Please read on.

How in the hell can we make what is invisible visible?  

The most invisible group in our country are Native Americans. Even more invisible is what is happening to Native American and Alaska Native women.

We are not powerless to act. We can raise our voices to demand justice and protection for our sisters.

The Indian Law Resource Center, has been fighting for a stronger VAWA which will increase protections for Native women. They have an online petition.

You can contact your representative in Congress.

(Continue reading below the fold.)