Back in the United States, the House of Representatives voted Thursday to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act, a sweeping law signed in 1994 that provides legal protection to survivors of domestic abuse. Thursday’s vote was 263 to 158, with 33 Republicans joining majority Democrats. Among those voting yes was Massachusetts freshman Democrat Ayanna Pressley, who told the story of her mother Sandy, a domestic abuse survivor.

Rep. Ayanna Pressley: “Let us reject the myth that strong women, bold women, independent women do not find themselves in the throes of violence at the hands of someone who claimed to love them. My mother, my shero, found herself in such an abusive relationship, one that threatened her physical safety, her sanity, chipped away at her dignity and her joy.”

The House vote to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act came despite opposition from the National Rifle Association, which objects to a provision that would take guns away from dating partners convicted of stalking or domestic violence. That provision faces an uphill fight in the Republican-controlled Senate, where opposition to closing the so-called boyfriend loophole runs high.