“That’s how our members will hold Congress accountable should any bipartisan compromise on our rights be proposed in the coming days.” “We empower our members to hold Congress accountable,” says Aidan Johnston, the director of federal affairs for Gun Owners of America, citing his organization’s involvement in quashing similar efforts in Congress after the mass shootings at Sandy Hook elementary in 2012 and a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, in 2019. John Cornyn of Texas have spoken optimistically of Congress advancing some proposals intended to restrict future mass shootings, leading gun rights advocates say they remain convinced that those efforts won’t yield any new gun control measures. “They control the House but will not fare well in the Senate.” “Our communication with members of the House and Senate tell us that Biden and the anti-gun rights Democrats have not gained ground in their push for new restrictions,” says Alan Gottlieb, the founder of the pro-gun Second Amendment Foundation. Fewer than half of states have extended the misdemeanor domestic violence firearm restriction to cover dating partners.But as congressional leaders from both parties explore what they might be able to actually pass, multiple gun-rights groups tell TIME they are ramping up their own efforts to oppose anything that would be viewed as gun control-by pressuring Republicans to stand firmly against the proposals, and, if needed, taking the Biden administration to court to prevent potential new laws from being enacted. Some states, such as Minnesota and West Virginia, have extended misdemeanor domestic violence firearm restrictions to dating partners already.
What is the situation at the state level? It does not cover restraining order laws. The bill would only close the loophole for those convicted of domestic violence misdemeanor crimes.
However, the legislation does not do this exactly. My research shows that when states extend firearm restrictions placed on individuals under domestic violence restraining orders to cover dating partners, there is an associated reduction in intimate partner homicide. Intimate partner homicide is a more frequent occurrence. We know that many mass shootings often involve killing intimate partners or family members, and that some of the shooters have criminal histories involving domestic violence before they commit the mass shootings.īut mass shootings make up only a small percentage of shootings in the United States.
First, the motivation to pass new gun safety legislation has come from recent mass shooting events and the hope of preventing future mass shootings. The current wording of the bill extends the ban to “those who have or have had a continuing relationship of a romantic or intimate nature.” This time, it’s due to Congress passing new gun safety legislation that, when signed, will close, or at least narrow the loophole. The conversation over extending domestic violence firearm restrictions to dating partners arises every few years. Why are people talking about the ‘boyfriend loophole’ now? With a nationally representative survey suggesting that 3.4% of victims of domestic violence have experienced non-fatal gun use by their abusers – combined with the high numbers of intimate partner murders committed with guns – this constitutes a large public health threat. We also know that guns are used to coerce, intimidate, and threaten intimate partners, and that gun-involved intimate partner violence can result in more symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder than intimate partner violence that doesn’t involve guns. Research suggests that when a violent male partner has access to a gun, the risk of murder to the female partner increases fivefold.