A measure to come before Maryland lawmakers would require courts to inform people convicted of domestic violence that they must give up their firearms.
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Federal law has long prohibited felons, those convicted of misdemeanor domestic abuse crimes and individuals subject to permanent protective orders from buying or owning guns.
Advocates for domestic violence victims in Virginia are praising a rare compromise in Richmond that could shepherd into law a measure that would strip abusers of their gun rights.
Missouri has twice the population of Arkansas, but the number of firearms-related domestic homicides in Missouri was more than three times higher than in Arkansas for the nine years surveyed. But on Thursday, a federal appeals court ordered a judge to reconsider her decision upholding the assault weapons ban and the 10-round limit on gun magazines. But Michigan has no legal mechanism to ensure those who are barred from owning guns in domestic abuse cases under federal or state law actually don’t have them, said Michigan State University law professor April Zeoli. And state law doesn’t require such weapons to be confiscated.
In the past two years, more than a dozen states have passed similar laws to empower their local law enforcement agencies to enforce it. The bills have passed with support from both political parties in an era of heightened partisanship surrounding gun issues.
Only time will tell if South Carolina’s new domestic violence law is effective in keeping guns out of abusers’ hands, officials said.
Some federal laws might limit gun ownership for people convicted of crime where state laws don’t, said Clark County Deputy Prosecutor Luka Vitasovic, but in Washington, any felony conviction precludes possessing a firearm.
House Speaker Tim Moore, who led the committee that developed the wide-ranging domestic violence law in 2004, said input from lawyers, judges and victims has helped the state develop “very robust” laws.
Steven Kaplan, a New Jersey divorce attorney who often focuses on domestic violence matters, said he doubts either of the proposals would have much of an impact.
“We’ve passed them in blue states, red states and purple states”, said John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety. Those with restraining orders against them could request a hearing.
“In my mind this is a common sense solution in instances where people make threatening remarks and we have to take them seriously”.
Some of the strictest state laws create processes for seizing firearms from abusers and extend gun bans to stalkers, abusive dating partners and those who are subject to temporary protective orders.
The West Virginia Coalition Against Domestic Violence, however, is not now on a policy campaign to change that law, said Joyce Yedlosky of the coalition.
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Accused people are also required to surrender their license to carry firearms or firearms identification cards.
