St. Louis Democrat Rep. Stacey Newman’s bill would ban those convicted of domestic violence or sexual offenses from possessing guns, as well as those with protective orders against them.
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Federal Bureau of Investigation records reviewed by AP show guns were used in 65 domestic-related killings in West Virginia from 2006 to 2014.
Last year Gov. Rick Snyder vetoed a bill that would have allowed some domestic violence abusers and stalkers to carry concealed handguns, a measure that outraged some gun control advocates.
“Some departments are more immediate in collecting weapons, whereas some notify the suspect that they have to surrender firearms, but they don’t follow up”, she said. Most of the Kansas victims were women, including 23 wives and 20 girlfriends.
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. Fewer states let law enforcement take guns subject to protective orders, according to the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.
It also prohibits people from buying a gun if they’ve been ordered by a court to stay away from their estranged partner.
Current New Jersey law bans gun possession among anyone convicted of domestic violence crimes or who has a restraining order filed against them. For example, she said, federal law could have a much narrower definition of victims or different rules for how guns are confiscated than a state law.
In 2000, West Virginia made it illegal for people convicted of misdemeanor domestic abuse to have a gun. His changes include strengthening the federal background check system, which has denied gun sales 120,000 times since 1998 because of domestic violence convictions.
Just eight years ago, most of the domestic violence deaths in Louisville were from strangulation.
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. They say the laws save lives and protect vulnerable women and children.
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“I think that the traditional polarization around gun-safety legislation has dampened considerably when we’re talking about domestic violence, and I’m hopeful that that tradition continues with this legislation”, Raskin said. Those with restraining orders against them could request a hearing.
