Guns and Domestic Violence
Seventy. That’s the number of women, on average, who are shot and killed each month in this country by a husband or partner, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data analysis. Gun violence is now the leading cause of death for U.S. children and teens – ahead of car accidents and cancer.
In June, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed that the government can continue denying firearms to people subject to court-ordered domestic violence protective orders. “Continuing this common-sense safety measure, which has been making our families and communities safer for decades, was important,” says Esta Soler, founder and president of Futures Without Violence (FUTURES), a leading U.S. violence prevention group. “But it only means we didn’t take a step backward that would make things even worse.”
Domestic violence is a grave and prevalent problem that becomes even more deadly when guns are present. A firearm in the home makes it a stunning five times more likely that a woman facing domestic violence will be killed by a male partner. So there’s an urgent need to take guns away from abusers.
And what starts at home doesn’t stay at home. When domestic abusers can access guns, communities become more dangerous. Multiple studies have found that a majority of the mass shootings that plague the United States involve some connection to domestic violence or are committed by a shooter who has a history of domestic violence.
“Gun violence is everywhere, and it affects all of us,” Soler says. “The status quo simply can’t continue. We need to do more to prevent gun violence in our homes and communities, protect survivors of domestic and sexual violence, and help heal the people who’ve been harmed by this violence.”
To do all that, FUTURES is working to educate judges about the importance of ensuring that people subject to restraining orders actually surrender their firearms. Right now, some states and jurisdictions require abusers to provide proof they relinquished their firearms, but most do not. Similarly, some individual judges demand proof, but most do not. Many experts want lawmakers, law enforcement, and judges to improve relinquishment procedures, ensure compliance, and act when a perpetrator fails to hand over his guns.
And FUTURES is asking Congress to:
• Close the so-called boyfriend (or dating partner) loophole in federal law to deny access to firearms to dating partners (not just spouses) who have restraining orders against them, and to those convicted of stalking.
• Invest more resources in both helping children and youth exposed to violence and trauma recover and heal.
• Provide more support for the strategies proven to prevent domestic violence and gun violence in communities and more resources to deter future criminal behavior.
Learn more about this work here: www.futureswithoutviolence.org
“Guns and domestic violence are a public health crisis, but it’s one we can address,” Soler adds. “These are steps that will make our homes and communities safer. There’s no time to waste.” (StatePoint)
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