I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 6405 

To amend title 18, United States Code, to protect more victims of domestic 

violence by preventing their abusers from possessing or receiving firearms 

and to amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 

1968 to establish a grant program relating to the removal of firearms 

from adjudicated domestic violence offenders, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 14, 2023 

Mr. HIMES (for himself, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. 

NORTON, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. CASTRO of 

Texas, Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia, Mr. MORELLE, Ms. JAYAPAL, Mr. 

NEGUSE, Ms. ROSS, Ms. TITUS, Mr. RASKIN, Ms. PETTERSEN, Mr. 

PETERS, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mrs. HAYES, Mr. GRIJALVA, and Mr. 

CROW) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To amend title 18, United States Code, to protect more 

victims of domestic violence by preventing their abusers 

from possessing or receiving firearms and to amend the 

Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 

to establish a grant program relating to the removal 

of firearms from adjudicated domestic violence offenders, 

and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Lori Jackson-Nicolette 

3 Elias Domestic Violence Survivor Protection Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress finds the following: 

6 (1) Congress has the responsibility to keep the 

7 populace of the United States safe, and domestic 

8 gun violence is a significant threat to the well-being 

9 of the United States. 

10 (2) Each year in the United States, more than 

11 800 women are shot and killed by an intimate part12 ner. More women are killed in the United States by 

13 domestic partners than by any other type of assail14 ant, and most of these homicides are committed with 

15 firearms. 

16 (3) Approximately 4,500,000 women alive in 

17 the United States today report having been threat18 ened with a gun by a domestic partner. 

19 (4) Almost two-thirds of intimate partner homi20 cides in the United States are committed with a fire21 arm. If a woman has an abusive male partner who 

22 has access to a firearm, the woman is 5 times more 

23 likely to be killed than she would be if the abusive 

24 male partner did not have access to a firearm, and 

25 domestic violence assaults involving a gun are 12 

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1 olence assaults involving other weapons or bodily 

2 force. 

3 (5) Perpetrators of intimate partner violence 

4 are far more likely to commit additional acts of gun 

5 violence. Nearly half of all mass shooters have com6 mitted acts of domestic violence. 

7 (6) Victims of intimate partner violence often 

8 pursue restraining orders as a means of protection 

9 in the immediate aftermath of, or in conjunction 

10 with, leaving dangerous partners and situations. 

11 This time period is especially dangerous for victims. 

12 (7) Although individuals against whom there is 

13 a domestic violence restraining order are barred 

14 from purchasing a firearm under section 922(g)(8) 

15 of title 18, United States Code, various loopholes in 

16 that section allow perpetrators to purchase and 

17 maintain possession of firearms. For example, Fed18 eral law only protects domestic violence victims 

19 against spouses, former spouses, cohabitants, former 

20 cohabitants, and individuals with whom those vic21 tims have a child. Furthermore, under Federal law, 

22 protective orders issued against domestic violence 

23 abusers on an emergency or ex parte basis do not 

24 prohibit those abusers from possessing or purchasing 

25 firearms. 


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1 (8) Some States and local governments have 

2 passed laws that go beyond the Federal baseline by 

3 expanding the range of abusive partners included in 

4 firearm restrictions to encompass abusive dating 

5 partners. Numerous studies conducted between 2000 

6 and 2017 have shown that States that pass these 

7 laws experience a significant reduction in intimate 

8 partner homicides. 

9 (9) States that restrict access to guns to indi10 viduals subject to active domestic violence restrain11 ing orders have experienced a 13-percent reduction 

12 in intimate partner homicides involving firearms. 

13 (10) Congress has the power to set a national 

14 standard to protect domestic violence victims who 

15 seek restraining orders against abusive partners by 

16 preventing those abusive partners from possessing or 

17 purchasing firearms and ammunition while the re18 straining order is in effect. 

19 SEC. 3. EXPANDED DEFINITIONS OF ‘‘COVERED DOMESTIC 

20 VIOLENCE COURT ORDER’’ AND ‘‘INTIMATE 

21 PARTNER’’. 

22 Section 921(a) of title 18, United States Code, is 

23 amended— 

24 (1) by inserting before paragraph (32) the fol25 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(31) The term ‘covered domestic violence court 

2 order’ means a court order, with respect to a per3 son— 

4 ‘‘(A)(i) that was issued after a hearing of 

5 which the person received actual notice, and at 

6 which the person had an opportunity to partici7 pate; or 

8 ‘‘(ii) in the case of an ex parte order, rel9 ative to which notice and opportunity to be 

10 heard are provided— 

11 ‘‘(I) within the time required by 

12 State, Tribal, or territorial law; and 

13 ‘‘(II) in any event within a reasonable 

14 time after the order is issued, sufficient to 

15 protect the due process rights of the per16 son; 

17 ‘‘(B) that restrains the person from— 

18 ‘‘(i) harassing, stalking, or threat19 ening an intimate partner of the person or 

20 child of the intimate partner or person, or 

21 engaging in other conduct that would place 

22 an intimate partner in reasonable fear of 

23 bodily injury to the partner or child; or 

24 ‘‘(ii) intimidating or dissuading a wit25 ness from testifying in court; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) that— 

2 ‘‘(i) includes a finding that the person 

3 represents a credible threat to the physical 

4 safety of an individual described in sub5 paragraph (B); or 

6 ‘‘(ii) by its terms explicitly prohibits 

7 the use, attempted use, or threatened use 

8 of physical force against an individual de9 scribed in subparagraph (B) that would 

10 reasonably be expected to cause bodily in11 jury.’’; 

12 (2) in paragraph (32), by striking all that fol13 lows after ‘‘The term ‘intimate partner’ ’’ and insert14 ing the following: ‘‘— 

15 ‘‘(A) means, with respect to a person, the 

16 spouse of the person, a former spouse of the person, 

17 an individual who is a parent of a child of the per18 son, and an individual who cohabitates or has 

19 cohabited with the person; and 

20 ‘‘(B) includes— 

21 ‘‘(i) a dating partner (as defined in section 

22 2266) or former dating partner; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) any other individual similarly situated 

24 to a spouse who is protected by the domestic or 

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1 al jurisdiction in which the injury occurred or 

2 where the victim resides.’’; and 

3 (3) in paragraph (33)(A)— 

4 (A) in clause (i), by inserting after ‘‘Fed5 eral, State,’’ the following: ‘‘municipal,’’; and 

6 (B) by amending clause (ii) to read as fol7 lows: 

8 ‘‘(ii) has, as an element, the use or at9 tempted use of physical force, or the 

10 threatened use of a deadly weapon, or that 

11 is classified as stalking, committed by— 

12 ‘‘(I) a current or former spouse, 

13 parent, or guardian of the victim; 

14 ‘‘(II) a person with whom the 

15 victim shares a child in common; 

16 ‘‘(III) a person who is cohabiting 

17 with or has cohabited with the victim 

18 as a spouse, parent, or guardin; 

19 ‘‘(IV) a person similarly situated 

20 to a spouse, parent, or guardian of 

21 the victim; 

22 ‘‘(V) a person who is or was a 

23 dating partner of the victim; or 


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1 ‘‘(VI) a person who is or was a 

2 dating partner of the victim’s parent 

3 or guardian.’’. 

4 SEC. 4. UNLAWFUL SALE OF FIREARM TO A PERSON SUB5 JECT TO COURT ORDER. 

6 Section 922(d)(8) of title 18, United States Code, is 

7 amended to read as follows: 

8 ‘‘(8) is subject to a covered domestic violence 

9 court order;’’. 

10 SEC. 5. LIST OF PERSONS SUBJECT TO A RESTRAINING OR 

11 SIMILAR ORDER PROHIBITED FROM POS12 SESSING OR RECEIVING A FIREARM EX13 PANDED. 

14 Section 922(g)(8) of title 18, United States Code, is 

15 amended to read as follows: 

16 ‘‘(8) who is subject to a covered domestic vio17 lence court order; or’’. 

18 SEC. 6. GRANT PROGRAM REGARDING THE REMOVAL OF 

19 FIREARMS FROM ADJUDICATED DOMESTIC 

20 VIOLENCE PARTIES. 

21 (a) AMENDMENT.—Title I of the Omnibus Crime 

22 Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10101 

23 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘PART PP—GRANT PROGRAM REGARDING RE2 MOVAL OF FIREARMS FROM ADJUDICATED 

3 DOMESTIC VIOLENCE PARTIES 

4 ‘‘SEC. 3061. DEFINITIONS. 

5 ‘‘In this part: 

6 ‘‘(1) AMMUNITION; FIREARM.—The terms ‘am7 munition’ and ‘firearm’ have the meanings given 

8 those terms in section 921 of title 18, United States 

9 Code. 

10 ‘‘(2) COVERED ENTITY.—The term ‘covered en11 tity’ means— 

12 ‘‘(A) a State; 

13 ‘‘(B) an Indian Tribe; or 

14 ‘‘(C) a unit of local government. 

15 ‘‘(3) DOMESTIC VIOLENCE PROTECTION

16 ORDER.—The term ‘domestic violence protection 

17 order’ has the meaning given the term ‘covered do18 mestic violence court order’ in section 921 of title 

19 18, United States Code. 

20 ‘‘SEC. 3062. GRANT PROGRAM. 

21 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY TO MAKE GRANTS.—The Attorney 

22 General may make grants to covered entities to assist the 

23 covered entities in carrying out the policies, procedures, 

24 protocols, laws, court rules, or regulations described in 

25 section 3063. 

26 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE COVERED ENTITY.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A covered entity shall be 

2 eligible to receive a grant under this section on and 

3 after the date on which the Attorney General deter4 mines that the covered entity has in effect policies, 

5 procedures, protocols, laws, court rules, or regula6 tions that are substantially similar to the policies, 

7 procedures, laws, court rules, or regulations de8 scribed in section 3063. 

9 ‘‘(2) DETERMINATION.—In making a deter10 mination under paragraph (1), the Attorney General 

11 may consider policies, procedures, protocols, laws, 

12 court rules, or regulations of a covered entity to be 

13 substantially similar to the policies, procedures, 

14 laws, courts rules, or regulations described in section 

15 3063 even if the policies, procedures, protocols, laws, 

16 court rules, or regulations of the covered entity— 

17 ‘‘(A) vary in scope; 

18 ‘‘(B) prescribe different types of protective 

19 orders or firearm surrender orders; or 

20 ‘‘(C) provide different timing requirements. 

21 ‘‘(c) USE OF FUNDS.—Grant funds awarded under 

22 this section may be used by a covered entity— 

23 ‘‘(1) to assist law enforcement agencies or 

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1 cies, procedures, protocols, laws, court rules, or reg2 ulations described in section 3063; and 

3 ‘‘(2) in order to ensure the safety of domestic 

4 violence victims after a domestic violence protection 

5 order is issued in accordance with the policies, pro6 cedures, protocols, laws, court rules, or regulations 

7 described in section 3063, to partner with and pro8 vide support to not less than 1 domestic violence vic9 tim service provider, which may include an organiza10 tion that is a culturally specific organization. 

11 ‘‘(d) APPLICATION.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A covered entity desiring a 

13 grant under this section shall submit to the Attorney 

14 General an application at such time, in such man15 ner, and containing or accompanied by such infor16 mation as the Attorney General may reasonably re17 quire. 

18 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—An application submitted 

19 under this subsection shall include a description of 

20 an action plan of the covered entity to establish a 

21 partnership described in subsection (c)(2). 

22 ‘‘SEC. 3063. STATE AND TRIBAL POLICIES AND PROCE23 DURES. 

24 ‘‘The policies, procedures, protocols, laws, court rules, 

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1 dures, protocols, laws, court rules, or regulations relating 

2 to the possession of a firearm or ammunition that— 

3 ‘‘(1) direct a court, upon the issuance of a do4 mestic violence protection order, to issue an addi5 tional order (referred to in this section as a ‘firearm 

6 surrender order’) that— 

7 ‘‘(A) is in effect for the duration of the do8 mestic violence protection order; 

9 ‘‘(B) automatically terminates upon the ex10 piration of the domestic violence protection 

11 order; 

12 ‘‘(C) requires— 

13 ‘‘(i) the individual subject to the fire14 arm surrender order to, not later than 24 

15 hours after the firearm surrender order is 

16 served, surrender physical possession of all 

17 firearms and ammunition in the posses18 sion, care, custody, or control of the indi19 vidual, including any firearm that the indi20 vidual has entrusted or lent to a third 

21 party, by either— 

22 ‘‘(I) surrendering the firearms 

23 and ammunition to the chief law en24 forcement officer of the district in 

25 which the individual resides or a law 


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1 enforcement agency designated by the 

2 State or Indian Tribe to receive and 

3 store firearms and ammunition; or 

4 ‘‘(II) selling the firearms and 

5 ammunition to a licensed dealer (as 

6 defined in section 921 of title 18, 

7 United States Code); or 

8 ‘‘(ii) the chief law enforcement officer 

9 of the district in which the individual re10 sides or a law enforcement agency des11 ignated by the State or Indian Tribe to re12 ceive and store firearms and ammunition 

13 to, not later than 24 hours after the fire14 arm surrender order is served, request the 

15 surrender of and remove and store any 

16 firearm or ammunition in the possession, 

17 care, custody, or control of the individual, 

18 including firearms and ammunition that 

19 the individual has entrusted or lent to a 

20 third party; 

21 ‘‘(D) prohibits the individual from pur22 chasing, possessing, or receiving, or attempting 

23 to purchase or receive, a firearm or ammunition 

24 for the period of time during which the firearm 

25 surrender order is in effect; 


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1 ‘‘(E) revokes any permit or license of the 

2 individual to purchase, possess or carry a fire3 arm or ammunition for the period of time dur4 ing which the firearm surrender order is in ef5 fect; and 

6 ‘‘(F) requires the individual subject to the 

7 firearm surrender order to, not later than 48 

8 hours after the firearm surrender order is 

9 served by a court, file with the court— 

10 ‘‘(i) a declaration under penalty of 

11 perjury that— 

12 ‘‘(I) the individual has made the 

13 surrender described in subparagraph 

14 (C)(i); 

15 ‘‘(II) the chief law enforcement 

16 officer of the district in which the in17 dividual resides has conducted the re18 moval described in subparagraph 

19 (C)(ii); or 

20 ‘‘(III) the individual did not pos21 sess any firearm or ammunition at the 

22 time of the issuance and service of the 

23 firearm surrender order and continues 

24 to not possess any firearms or ammu25 nition; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) an itemized receipt of any fire2 arms or ammunition surrendered by the 

3 individual subject to the firearm surrender 

4 order under subparagraph (C)(i), or re5 moved by a chief law enforcement officer 

6 from that individual under subparagraph 

7 (C)(ii), that is signed by the individual who 

8 took possession of those firearms or am9 munition; 

10 ‘‘(2) in the case of an individual who does not 

11 comply with paragraph (1)(C)(i), and where there 

12 are reasonable grounds to believe that the individual 

13 possesses or has purchased a firearm, require the 

14 chief law enforcement officer or designated law en15 forcement agency described in paragraph (1)(C)(ii) 

16 to remove any firearm or ammunition from the indi17 vidual; 

18 ‘‘(3) requires a chief law enforcement officer or 

19 designated law enforcement agency that conducts a 

20 removal under paragraph (1)(C)(ii) or (2) or re21 ceives a firearm or ammunition surrendered by an 

22 individual under paragraph (1)(C)(i)(I) to, not later 

23 than 48 hours after conducting the removal or re24 ceiving the surrendered firearm or ammunition, no25 tify the court of the removal or surrender; 


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1 ‘‘(4) with respect to a firearm or ammunition 

2 that is surrendered under paragraph (1)(C)(i) or 

3 any firearm or ammunition removed under para4 graph (1)(C)(ii) or (2), require the law enforcement 

5 agency to which the firearm or ammunition is sur6 rendered or that removes any firearm or ammunition 

7 to— 

8 ‘‘(A) safely store the firearm or ammuni9 tion; and 

10 ‘‘(B) at the request of the individual sub11 ject to the firearm surrender order, not later 

12 than 7 days after the date on which the domes13 tic violence protection order described in para14 graph (1) expires or is removed— 

15 ‘‘(i) perform a background check on 

16 the individual subject to the firearm sur17 render order to determine whether the in18 dividual is prohibited from possessing or 

19 receiving a firearm under Federal or State 

20 law; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) return the firearm or ammuni22 tion to the individual subject to the firearm 

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1 arm under Federal, State, or Tribal law; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(5) require the courts and relevant law en4 forcement agencies to partner with and provide sup5 port for local domestic violence programs in order to 

6 ensure the safety of victims of domestic violence 

7 after the issuance of a firearm surrender order.’’. 

8 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

9 1001(a) of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 

10 Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10261) is amended by 

11 adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(29) There are authorized to be appropriated such 

13 sums as are necessary to carry out part PP.’’. 

14 SEC. 7. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

15 The NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007 

16 (34 U.S.C. 40902 et seq.) is amended— 

17 (1) in section 3(1) (34 U.S.C. 40903(1)), by 

18 striking ‘‘court order (as described in section 

19 922(g)(8)’’ and inserting ‘‘covered domestic violence 

20 court order (as defined in section 921(a)’’; and 

21 (2) in section 102(b)(1)(C)(v) (34 U.S.C. 

22 40912(b)(1)(C)(v)), by striking ‘‘court order de23 scribed in section 922(g)(8)’’ and inserting ‘‘covered 


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1 domestic violence court order, as defined in section 

2 921(a)’’. 

Æ 


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