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WILKES-BARRE — Terry Renninger knows about losing a loved one to domestic violence — his daughter, Rebecca, was killed in 2009 by her abusive estranged husband.

That’s why Renninger was at the Luzerne County Courthouse on Monday to tell U.S. Sen. Bob Casey that funding for mandatory education on domestic violence is needed in schools.

As the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) authorization expired over 70 days ago, Casey, D-Scranton, was joined by local domestic violence survivors and advocates to hear their stories and highlight the importance of helping families.

Casey said the U.S. House of Representatives recently passed legislation to reauthorize VAWA and Casey said he will urge Senate Leader Mitch McConnell to take up that legislation quickly.

Renninger, of Mountain Top, said his daughter Rebecca Renninger Amrowski, 26, was shot in the head in 2009 and he has since been an active advocate to create awareness to stop domestic violence.

“We need mandatory education in our schools, from junior high through high school,” Renninger said.

No funding

The problem however, is that the current bill does not include funding for education. Casey said he will look into adding funding for education to the bill, which currently would earmark some $750 million for fighting domestic violence, including provisions restricting access to guns for individuals convicted of domestic violence and stalking offenses.

Casey said he will request another $130 million be added to the funding to be allocated should the bill pass.

Renninger wears a button — “Don’t Hit Me” — that he said his daughter requested when she came to him in a dream about two weeks after she was killed. He said his daughter was the victim of domestic violence from the time she was 17.

Renninger’s daughter was a 2001 graduate of Crestwood High School. She was found dead in her Fairmount Township home on June 22, 2009, with a gunshot wound to her head.

Renninger said Rebecca’s estranged husband, Brian Amrowski, was arrested several days later in Nevada in possession of Rebecca’s rental car. He was arrested for theft and was returned to Pennsylvania. On June 9, 2010, as officials were in the process of filing homicide charges against him, Renninger said Amrowski hanged himself.

Focus on prevention

Luzerne County District Attorney Stefanie Salavantis said Casey’s stance on the issue is extremely important and significant in the fight to stop violence against women.

“Prevention has to be the focus,” Salavantis said. “We need more funding for community education to inform the public about the resources that are available.”

Salavantis said children raised in abusive homes often later come through the system facing criminal charges. She said Luzerne County had nine domestic abuse related homicides in 2018 and in most of those cases, there had been a history of domestic abuse.

Peg Ruddy of the Women’s Resource Center in Lackawanna County said there is a need to educate the community about the consequences of domestic violence. Ruddy noted that the perpetrators involved in several national and international mass shootings all had a history of domestic violence — the Parkland shooter, the Las Vegas shooter, the Bastille Day truck driver and the Boston Marathon bomber to name a few.

“We need to show the public that these acts of domestic violence can result in much larger acts that endanger then public,” Ruddy said.

Casey said he will fight to add funding for education to the reauthorization, citing the need for awareness, prevention and education.

Reauthorization

Casey said the House passed a bipartisan VAWA reauthorization bill on April 4 that now awaits consideration in the Senate.

He said under current law, an individual who has been convicted of a domestic violence offense against an “intimate partner,” or who is subject to a restraining order restricting their contact with an “intimate partner” is prevented from purchasing or possessing a firearm.

However, Casey said guns may still be available to someone convicted of a domestic violence offense or stalking offense against someone they dated — he called it the “boyfriend loophole.”

The bill would prevent individuals convicted of stalking, as well domestic or dating partners who have a restraining order against them, from purchasing or possessing firearms

Terry Renninger shakes hands with U.S. Sen. Bob Casey at the Luzerne County Courthouse during a talk on domestic violence Monday.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/web1_TTL0423019Casey2-1.jpg.optimal.jpgTerry Renninger shakes hands with U.S. Sen. Bob Casey at the Luzerne County Courthouse during a talk on domestic violence Monday. Aimee Dilger | Times Leader

U.S. Sen. Bob Casey listens to Terry Renninger at the Luzerne County Courthouse during a discussion on domestic violence on Monday. Renninger’s daughter, Rebecca, was murdered in 2009 as a result of domestic abuse.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/web1_TTL0423019Casey3-1.jpg.optimal.jpgU.S. Sen. Bob Casey listens to Terry Renninger at the Luzerne County Courthouse during a discussion on domestic violence on Monday. Renninger’s daughter, Rebecca, was murdered in 2009 as a result of domestic abuse. Aimee Dilger | Times Leader

Terry Renninger holds out a pin he wears for his daughter that reads ‘Don’t Hit Me’ while U.S. Sen. Bob Casey listens to him talk of his daughter, Rebecca, who was murdered in 2009. Casey was at the Luzerne County Courthouse for a panel discussion on domestic violence on Monday.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/web1_TTL0423019Casey1-1.jpg.optimal.jpgTerry Renninger holds out a pin he wears for his daughter that reads ‘Don’t Hit Me’ while U.S. Sen. Bob Casey listens to him talk of his daughter, Rebecca, who was murdered in 2009. Casey was at the Luzerne County Courthouse for a panel discussion on domestic violence on Monday. Aimee Dilger | Times Leader
Casey hears advocates demand action on VAWA legislation

By Bill O’Boyle

[email protected]

About the VAWA

• The Violence Against Women Act was originally enacted in 1994.

• It allowed for enhanced sentencing of repeat federal sex offenders; mandated restitution to victims of specified federal sex offenses; and authorized grants to state, local, and tribal law enforcement entities to investigate and prosecute violent crimes against women, among other things.

• VAWA has been reauthorized three times since its original enactment.

• The fundamental goals of VAWA are to prevent violent crime; respond to the needs of crime victims; learn more about crime; and change public attitudes through a collaborative effort by the criminal justice system, social service agencies, research organizations, schools, public health organizations, and private organizations.

Reach Bill O’Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.