States taking action to keep guns out of abusers’ hands

Kansas appears unlikely to join more than two dozen states that have passed laws in the last two years making it more hard for domestic abusers to possess weapons, a state representative who introduced a similar law during the 2015 legislative session said.

Federal Bureau of Investigation data obtained by The Associated Press shows 230 people have died in domestic violence shootings in SC from 2006 to 2015.

MASSACHUSETTS: Democratic Gov. Deval Patrick signed a law in 2014 that prohibits individuals convicted of domestic violence misdemeanors from buying or owning firearms and ammunition.

Del. Kathleen Dumais, who practices family law and works on divorce and custody cases, sponsored the bill a year ago before withdrawing it due to a pending legal case in a Maryland appellate court. Today, more than 71 percent are from guns. The SHR collects data reported from law enforcement agencies in 49 states and Washington, D.C. Florida does not report its data to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. A bill introduced past year would have put more of the burden on the suspect, ordering them to immediately surrender firearms instead of possibly waiting for a judge’s order. But a handful of state judges have been including gun bans as part of the emergency protective orders they issue in domestic violence situations.

Hollie Ayers is pushing for a Pennsylvania law that would require people to turn over their guns when judges issue protection orders against them.

In Vermont between 2006 and 2014, there were 15 domestic violence-related firearm homicides in the state, according to statistics compiled by The Associated Press.

The appeals court vacated an order requiring a defendant to surrender his firearms because the court failed to specify on a form which criteria the case met.

“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.

Giving judges more discretion to implement gun bans in domestic violence cases – effectively reversing the effects of the Stancill case – would be a good start, McCool said.

The federal gun ban only applies to permanent orders. The federal law also does not strip firearms rights from those who abuse their dating partners, those convicted of misdemeanor stalking or those who are subject to temporary protective orders and have not yet had a hearing. But Indiana law allows people with a domestic violence conviction to petition a court to have his or her right to possess a firearm restored five years after his or her conviction. He also said law enforcement should be hesitant when it comes to removing guns from those who were accused but not yet convicted.