SUPREME COURT DENIES GUNS TO DOMESTIC ABUSERS

BREAKING NEWS: 

The Supreme Court ruled in favor of prohibiting those convicted of domestic violence misdemeanors from legally owning or possessing firearms. 

Supreme Court Just Ruled that Domestic Abusers Can’t Have Guns
Voisine v. United States.

The Court Slams The Door On Domestic Abusers Owning Guns

“The Court ruled, by a vote of 6–2, to uphold a ban that prohibits abusers convicted of domestic-violence misdemeanors from owning or possessing firearms.”

This is a tremendous victory that has taken the dedication of activists, advocates and policy makers many years to make happen. I spoke, by invitation and from personal history, to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in 2001 specifically about the particular dangers of guns in domestic violence situations and the bias that many judges have about protecting a man’s right to bear arms, even if there is proof that he has used a gun or guns to threaten his wife or partner in the past.

According to the Journal of Public Health, research shows that guns make it more likely that domestic abuse will turn into murder: When a gun is present in a domestic violence situation, it increases the risk of homicide for women by 500 percent.  (J.C. Campbell, D.W. Webster, J. Koziol-McLain, et al., “Risk factors for femicide within physically abusive intimate relationships: results from a multi-site case control study,” 93 Amer. J. of Public Health 1089-1097 (2003).

This ruling today shows that protecting lives over the right to bear arms is becoming more of a priority, which may save lives we may have otherwise lost before today’s ruling.  Thank you to everyone who has worked to bring such tremendous change.

All peace to each one of you today. Dora