In 2012, the state began requiring that domestic violence protective orders ban respondents from having guns or ammunitions.
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It’s part of a trend that has seen more than a dozen states strengthen laws over the past two years to keep firearms out of the hands of domestic abusers, a rare area of consensus in the nation’s highly polarized debate over guns.
MI relies on federal law which also requires courts to notify domestic abusers when they become prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition, requires the surrender of firearms or ammunition by domestic abusers to law enforcement when prohibited under federal law, and requires law enforcement to remove firearms at the scene of a domestic violence incident.
An analysis of Federal Bureau of Investigation data by The Associated Press shows an estimated 184 people in MI were victims of domestic gun homicide from 2006 to 2014.
Committee Vice Chairman Peter Lucido, R-Shelby Township, said judges already have enough discretion in determining whether offenders should have guns in abuse cases, and police can seize those weapons on a judge’s order. For one, she says they could impose a permanent ban on people with domestic violence convictions from possessing firearms.
Last year, Democrats and Republicans came together to pass the law giving a lifetime gun ban for the worst abusers and an automatic three- or 10-year ban in other serious cases.
Victims’ advocates say the law could be better.
The group gives Michigan an overall grade of C for its gun laws, noting that the concealed pistol license process was shifted from local gun boards to the Michigan State Police last spring. Only five other states reported more deaths, all significantly larger in population. He cited GOP support of gun rights.
The change may seem small, but it would lead to more consistency among law enforcement agencies, said Nicole Morella, director of public policy and communications for the New Jersey Coalition to End Domestic Violence.
In 2000, West Virginia made it illegal for people convicted of misdemeanor domestic abuse to have a gun.
“We’re taking steps”, Watersong said. “That would do a heck of a lot more to protect these women”.
Hollie Ayers is pushing for a Pennsylvania law that would require people to turn over their guns when judges issue protection orders against them. That’s twice as many as any other year. 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.
“South Carolina is no longer thinking about the convenience of the abuser”, Haley said when she signed the bill in June.
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Accused people are also required to surrender their license to carry firearms or firearms identification cards.
