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 nearly 92 percent of women killed by firearms in high-income countries were American women; Whereas firearms are used in nearly 59 percent of cases where women are killed by their intimate partners; Whereas an average of 57 women are killed by their intimate partners using firearms every month; Whereas 59 percent of mass shootings between 2014 and 2019 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 nondomestic violence-related mass shootings; 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, or having a firearm fired or pointed at them; Whereas 4,500,000 women in the United States reported having been threatened with a firearm by an intimate partner; Whereas, when an abusive male partner has access to a firearm, a female victim of such abuse is 5 times more likely to be killed; Whereas, in two-thirds of households with a history of abuse and with firearms present, the abusive partner used the firearm against the victim by threatening or otherwise terrorizing them; Whereas over half of all intimate partner homicides are committed in never-married relationships; Whereas the deadly intersection of firearms and intimate partner violence affects all women, but it has a disproportionate impact on Black, American Indian/Alaska Native, and Hispanic women; Whereas 1 in 3 Hispanic women have experienced intimate partner violence; Whereas, compared to non-Hispanic White women, Black women are twice as likely to be fatally shot by an intimate partner, and nearly 3 times more likely at the ages between 18 and 34; Whereas more than half of the population of American Indian/Alaska Native women have experienced physical violence by intimate partners; and Whereas early research shows that domestic and intimate partner violence have increased during the COVID–19 pandemic: Now, therefore, be it That— (1) the House of Representatives— (A) recognizes the relationship between firearm violence and intimate partner violence; (B) commends domestic violence victim advocates, domestic violence victim service providers, crisis hotline staff, and first responders serving victims of domestic violence for their compassionate support of survivors of domestic violence; and (C) pledges to fund comprehensive research on the nexus of firearms and intimate partner violence, including the disproportionate impact on Black, American Indian/Alaska Native, and Hispanic people; and (2) it is the sense of the House of Representatives that the Congress should— (A) strengthen the National Instant Criminal Background Check System to keep firearms out of the hands of those who are prohibited from possessing them; (B) restrict access to firearms by all people subject to domestic violence restraining orders; (C) continue to support programs designed to assist survivors of domestic violence, hold perpetrators of domestic violence accountable, and bring an end to domestic violence; (D) continue to support local relinquishment processes to ensure compliance with Federal firearm prohibitions in domestic violence cases; (E) immediately consider H.R. 1494, the Zero Tolerance for Domestic Abusers Act, and H.R. 1441, the No Guns for Abusers Act of 2021; and (F) call on the Senate to immediately consider H.R. 8, the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2021, H.R. 1446, the Enhanced Background Checks Act of 2021, and H.R. 1620, the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2021.

Summary: This resolution recognizes the relationship between, and encourages efforts to address, firearm violence and intimate partner violence.