Biden: Domestic violence a stain on country's character

WASHINGTON — Vice President Joe Biden says violence against women is the ugliest form of violence there is. He’s calling it a stain on America’s national character that must be exposed and eliminated.

Biden spoke out at a ceremony marking the 20th anniversary of the Violence Against Woman Act, one day after the Baltimore Ravens let Ray Rice go following a video that emerged showing the running back knocking his then-fiancee unconscious.

Biden said victims can’t fully recover until there’s a conviction. He says he’ll convene a summit aimed at finding ways to allow survivors to sue their abusers in federal court. The Supreme Court struck down that provision of the Violence Against Women Act.

Earlier Tuesday, Biden told NBC that the NFL did the right thing by indefinitely suspending Rice.

“So all of a sudden they said, ‘Wait a minute, he got suspended for a couple games? Whoa, that’s not enough.’ Then, they get a little more sensitized. And then it was longer,” said Biden on “Today.”

“And then when the video was out there, and saw how brutal it was, the Ravens did the right thing: fired him, immediately. Now you can argue: They should have done it sooner, they didn’t want it. Whatever the reason is, it’s happening.”

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