IV 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 555 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the relationships between firearm violence, misogyny, and violence against women 

and reaffirming the importance of preventing individuals with a history 

of violence against women from accessing a firearm. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 12, 2019 

Ms. SPEIER (for herself, Mrs. DINGELL, Ms. MOORE, Ms. PRESSLEY, Ms. 

ESCOBAR, Mr. QUIGLEY, Ms. MENG, Ms. HAALAND, Mrs. TORRES of 

California, Mr. FOSTER, Mrs. LAWRENCE, Mr. KHANNA, Ms. NORTON, 

Mr. ESPAILLAT, Ms. DEAN, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. 

TONKO, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. BEYER, Ms. LOFGREN, Ms. CASTOR of 

Florida, Ms. HILL of California, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Ms. STEVENS, 

Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. GARCI ́A of Illinois, Mr. GREEN of 

Texas, Ms. BROWNLEY of California, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Ms. 

PORTER, Ms. GARCIA of Texas, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. BROWN of Maryland, Ms. TLAIB, Mr. LEWIS, Ms. JUDY CHU of California, Mr. 

CICILLINE, and Ms. WEXTON) submitted the following resolution; which 

was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the 

Committees on Energy and Commerce, Financial Services, Ways and 

Means, Education and Labor, Natural Resources, and Veterans’ Affairs, 

for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case 

for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 

committee concerned 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the relationships between firearm violence, misogyny, 

and violence against women and reaffirming the importance of preventing individuals with a history of violence 

against women from accessing a firearm. 


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•HRES 555 IH 

Whereas nearly one in four women have experienced some 

form of intimate partner violence, including sexual violence, physical violence, or stalking, and one in three 

women have experienced sexual violence during their lifetime, according to the National Intimate Partner and 

Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS) for 2015; 

Whereas the majority of intimate partner homicides follow 

previous incidents of physical violence against the victim; 

Whereas an estimated three-quarters of all intimate partner 

homicide victims had been stalked by their partners prior 

to the homicide, according to a 1999 study published in 

Homicide Studies; 

Whereas approximately 4,500,000 women alive today in the 

United States have been threatened by an intimate partner with a firearm and almost 1,000,000 women report 

being shot or shot at by an intimate partner, according 

to a 2016 study published in Trauma, Violence, and 

Abuse; 

Whereas nearly half of all female homicide victims between 

2003 and 2014 were killed by intimate partners, according to a 2017 study published in the Journal of the 

American Medical Association; 

Whereas a study of family and intimate assaults in Atlanta, 

Georgia, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 1992 found that an incident of family 

or intimate violence is 12 times more likely to result in 

a fatality if it involves a firearm; 

Whereas an abuser’s access to a firearm increases the likelihood that a woman will be killed by 400 percent, according a 2003 study published in the American Journal of 

Public Health; 


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•HRES 555 IH 

Whereas the presence of a firearm in the home increases the 

risk of female homicide by 300 percent and the risk of 

female suicide by 500 percent, according to a 1997 study 

published in the Archives of Internal Medicine; 

Whereas data on homicide trends in the United States from 

1990 to 2005 reveal that firearms were used in more 

than two-thirds of homicides of a current or former 

spouse; 

Whereas an estimated three-quarters of intimate partner 

homicides in which there were multiple victims involve a 

firearm; 

Whereas a 2019 comparison of violent death rates among 

high-income countries indicates that women in the United 

States are 21 times more likely to be killed with a firearm than women in other high-income countries; 

Whereas 91.6 percent of all women killed by firearms in highincome countries in 2015 were killed in the United 

States; 

Whereas an analysis of active shooter incidents between 2000 

and 2018 by the Federal Bureau of Investigation found 

that 241 out of 250 incidents involved a male shooter; 

Whereas an analysis of mass shootings by Everytown for Gun 

Safety indicates that in 54 percent of mass shootings in 

the United States between 2009 and 2017 in which four 

or more people were killed, the shooter killed a former or 

current intimate partner or family member; 

Whereas, on August 4, 2019, nine people, including the gunman’s sister, were killed and 27 people were wounded 

when a shooter with a history of aggression against 

women, including an incident in which he was suspended 

from high school for possessing a list of female classVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:36 Sep 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR555.IH HR555

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•HRES 555 IH 

mates he targeted for sexual violence, opened fire in Dayton, Ohio; 

Whereas, on November 5, 2017, 25 people were killed, including a pregnant woman, and 20 people were wounded in 

Sutherland Springs, Texas, by a shooter with an established history of domestic violence, including a prior conviction for domestic violence against his wife and stepson 

and a separate investigation into a rape complaint; 

Whereas, on December 6, 2016, a mother and her three children were shot and killed by a former dating partner who 

had been convicted of stalking a former girlfriend and arrested for battery against a household member, but continued to have access to firearms because of the ‘‘boyfriend loophole’’ wherein he was not married to the 

women he abused; 

Whereas, on June 12, 2016, 49 people were killed and 53 

people were wounded when a shooter who was physically 

abusive toward his wife, including by allegedly beating 

her while she was pregnant, opened fire in the Pulse 

nightclub in Orlando, Florida; 

Whereas, on February 25, 2016, a gunman shot and killed 

three people and injured 14 people in Newton and 

Hesston, Kansas, after being served with a temporary 

protective order related to an abusive relationship; 

Whereas, on May 23, 2014, six people were killed and 14 

people were wounded by being stabbed, shot, or struck by 

the vehicle of a self-identified member of the involuntary 

celibate, or incel, group of men who blame women for 

their sexual frustrations and advocate for violence against 

them, with the shooter uploading a video and publishing 

a manifesto detailing his hatred toward women in Isla 


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•HRES 555 IH 

Vista, California, near the University of California, Santa 

Barbara; 

Whereas, on December 14, 2012, 26 students and teachers 

were killed in a mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School after a shooter who previously threatened the 

life of his mother shot and killed her at home; 

Whereas 11 percent of background check denials are attributed to a misdemeanor of domestic violence or a protective or restraining order according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics’ most recent report on Background Checks 

for Firearm Transfers; 

Whereas the so-called ‘‘Charleston Loophole’’, which allows a 

licensed firearms dealer to sell a firearm to a person after 

three business days even if the background check is not 

complete, has allowed nearly 2,000 domestic abusers to 

acquire firearms over the past two years; 

Whereas, on February 27, 2019, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 8, the Bipartisan Background Checks 

Act of 2019, to require a background check for firearm 

transfers between unlicensed parties, with limited exceptions; 

Whereas, on February 28, 2019, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 1112, the Enhanced Background 

Checks Act of 2019, to lengthen the period of time that 

must pass before a firearm transfer can occur without a 

completed background check; 

Whereas a 2017 analysis of State firearm restrictions for perpetrators of domestic violence found that firearm prohibition laws that apply to dating partners are associated 

with a 16-percent reduction in intimate partner homicide; 


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•HRES 555 IH 

Whereas, on April 4, 2019, the House of Representatives 

passed H.R. 1585, the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2019, to expand existing prohibitions 

on firearm access for domestic abusers to those convicted 

of dating violence or misdemeanor stalking, and those 

subject to ex parte protective orders; and 

Whereas the Senate has not held a vote on H.R. 8, H.R. 

1112, or H.R. 1585: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) affirms that reducing access to a firearm 

3 for individuals with a history of violence against 

4 women, including stalking and threats of violence, is 

5 critical to reducing the fatality of intimate partner 

6 violence in the United States; 

7 (2) acknowledges that current law falls short in 

8 protecting women who are victims of intimate part9 ner violence from unnecessary risk of firearm vio10 lence because an abuser can exploit legal loopholes 

11 to access a firearm; 

12 (3) recognizes that perpetrators of firearm vio13 lence often have a history of violence against women 

14 and that a successful firearm violence prevention 

15 strategy must meaningfully address this connection; 

16 (4) acknowledges the need for legislation to bet17 ter prevent individuals with a history of violence 

18 against women from purchasing or possessing a fire19 arm; 


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1 (5) supports further research into the relation2 ships among misogyny, violence against women, and 

3 firearm violence; and 

4 (6) calls on the Senate to immediately consider 

5 H.R. 8, the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 

6 2019, H.R. 1112, the Enhanced Background Checks 

7 Act of 2019, and H.R. 1585, the Violence Against 

8 Women Reauthorization Act of 2019. 

Æ 


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