Disarming Domestic Violence Abusers

The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence united with the Million Mom March launched a campaign to highlight steps that states should take to complement the federal laws and prevent domestic abusers from purchasing or possessing firearms.

This report highlights these legislative steps:

1. Restraining orders must clearly prohibit gun possession and be added to state and national databases used to conduct background checks on gun sales;

2. Abusers found guilty of domestic violence misdemeanors must be prohibited from possessing firearms and added to state and national databases used to conduct background checks on gun sales;

3. Police must remove firearms from the scenes of domestic violence;

4. Judges and state authorities must be granted authority, and use it, to identify and disarm abusers who already possess firearms;

5. Abusers must be stopped from buying additional guns by ensuring that background checks are done on every firearms transfer, including gun shows and other venues; and

6. Funding and adequate resources must be provided for strong enforcement of these efforts to safeguard victims and their families from abusers with firearms.

http://www.bradycampaign.org/facts/reports/?page=domvio

Publication date: September 2003