By Claire Antonelli O ne of the toughest laws protecting victims of domestic violence is currently in jeopardy. The newly passed Domestic Violence Offenders Gun Ban prohibits people convicted of domestic violence misdemeanor offenses from purchasing or possessing guns.
Studies show that weapons are used in thirty percent of domestic violence incidents.
Unfortunately, several bills that would gut this law have been introduced in the new Congress. Opponents of the Domestic Violence Gun Ban argue that applying the law to police officers convicted of past and future misdemeanor domestic violence offenses will unfairly cost police officers their jobs. Proponents of this bill say they have introduced it to save the gun ban law. But women's groups call attention to the fact that gun ban laws are generally retroactive, and that eliminating retroactivity would put guns back in the hands of abusers convicted before Sept. 28, 1996. Rather than trying to seek an exemption for police officers and military personnel who are abusers, we should be concerned with why we are recruiting so many abusers for these positions.