IV 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 737 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the relationship between firearm violence and intimate partner violence and to honor 

the memory of Gladys Ricart and other victims of intimate partner 

homicide killed by firearms, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 28, 2023 

Mr. ESPAILLAT (for himself, Mrs. DINGELL, Ms. LEE of California, Ms. 

KELLY of Illinois, and Ms. JACKSON LEE) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the relationship between firearm violence and intimate partner violence and to honor the memory of Gladys Ricart and other victims of intimate partner homicide 

killed by firearms, and for other purposes. 

Whereas domestic violence perpetrated with a firearm disproportionately affects millions of American adults and 

children, with a particular impact on women; 

Whereas, according to recent data, nearly 92 percent of 

women killed by firearms in high-income countries in an 

average year are from the United States; 

Whereas firearms are used in nearly 66 percent of cases 

where women are killed by their intimate partners; 


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•HRES 737 IH 

Whereas every month an average of 57 women are killed with 

a firearm by an intimate partner; 

Whereas an American woman is killed with a firearm by a 

current or former partner around every 12 hours; 

Whereas approximately 59 percent of mass shootings in recent years were connected to instances of domestic or intimate partner violence; 

Whereas only 16 percent of victims in domestic violence-related mass shootings survive such incidents compared to 

37 percent of victims in mass shootings unrelated to domestic violence; 

Whereas nearly 1 in 10 United States adults have experienced nonfatal firearm abuse at the hands of an intimate 

partner, such as being threatened directly with a firearm 

or by a partner who possessed or had easy access to a 

firearm; 

Whereas, when an abusive partner has access to a firearm, 

a female victim of such abuse is five times more likely to 

be killed; 

Whereas 80 percent of firearm intimate partner homicide victims are female; 

Whereas the deadly intersection of firearms and intimate 

partner violence affects all women, but it has a disproportionate impact on Black women, American Indian/Alaska 

Native women, and Hispanic women in the United 

States; 

Whereas 1 in 3 Hispanic women in the United States experience intimate partner violence during their lifetime; 


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•HRES 737 IH 

Whereas more than half of American Indian and Alaska Native women experience physical violence by an intimate 

partner in their lifetime; and 

Whereas compared to non-Hispanic White women, Black 

women in the United States are three times more likely 

to be fatally shot by an intimate partner, and nearly five 

times more likely to be fatally shot between the ages of 

18 and 34: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That— 

2 (1) the House of Representatives— 

3 (A) recognizes the relationship between 

4 firearm violence and intimate partner violence; 

5 (B) commends domestic violence victim ad6 vocates, domestic violence victim service pro7 viders, crisis hotline staff, and first responders 

8 serving victims of domestic violence for their 

9 compassionate support of survivors of domestic 

10 violence; and 

11 (C) pledges to fund comprehensive re12 search on the nexus of firearms and intimate 

13 partner violence, including the disproportionate 

14 impact on Black, American Indian/Alaska Na15 tive, and Hispanic people; and 

16 (2) it is the sense of the House of Representa17 tives that the Congress should— 

18 (A) strengthen the National Instant Crimi19 nal Background Check System to keep firearms 


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•HRES 737 IH 

1 out of the hands of those who are prohibited 

2 from possessing them; 

3 (B) restrict access to firearms by all people 

4 subject to domestic violence restraining orders; 

5 (C) continue to support programs designed 

6 to assist survivors of domestic violence, hold 

7 perpetrators of domestic violence accountable, 

8 and bring an end to domestic violence; 

9 (D) continue to support local relinquish10 ment processes to ensure compliance with Fed11 eral firearm prohibitions in domestic violence 

12 cases; and 

13 (E) immediately consider H.R. 905, the 

14 Strengthening Protections for Domestic Vio15 lence and Stalking Survivors Act of 2023, H.R. 

16 715, the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 

17 2023, and all other relevant legislation that is 

18 targeted towards reducing the risk of firearm 

19 violence, reducing the risk of intimate partner 

20 violence, and recognizing and combatting the 

21 deadly relationship between the two. 

Æ 


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