I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 905 
To amend title 18, United States Code, to define intimate partner to include 
someone with whom there is or was a dating relationship, and for 
other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 9, 2023 
Mrs. DINGELL (for herself, Ms. JACKSON LEE, and Mr. FITZPATRICK) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Ju-
diciary 
A BILL 
To amend title 18, United States Code, to define intimate 
partner to include someone with whom there is or was 
a dating relationship, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Strengthening Protec-
tions for Domestic Violence and Stalking Survivors Act 
of 2023’’. 
SEC. 2. ADDRESSING INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE. 
(a) INCLUSION OF CURRENT AND FORMER DATING 
PARTNERS IN DEFINITION OF ‘‘INTIMATE PARTNER’’.— 
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Section 921(a) of title 18, United States Code, is amend-
ed— 
(1) in paragraph (32)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘and an individual’’ and in-
serting ‘‘an individual’’; and 
(B) by inserting before the period at the 
end the following: ‘‘, an individual who is or 
was in a dating relationship with the person, or 
any other individual similarly situated to a 
spouse, including a person who is protected by 
the domestic or family violence laws of the 
State or Tribal jurisdiction in which the abuse 
occurred or the victim resides’’; 
(2) by striking paragraph (37)(A) and inserting 
the following: 
‘‘(37)(A) The term ‘dating relationship’ means 
a relationship between individuals who have or have 
had, or in the case of a misdemeanor crime of do-
mestic violence have or have recently had, a con-
tinuing serious relationship of a romantic or inti-
mate nature.’’; and 
(3) in paragraph (37)(C), by striking ‘‘dating’’ 
and inserting ‘‘continuing serious’’. 
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(b) NEW PROHIBITOR FOR MISDEMEANOR CRIMES 
OF STALKING.—Chapter 44 of title 18, United States 
Code, is amended— 
(1) in section 921(a), by adding at the end the 
following: 
‘‘(38)(A) Except as provided in subparagraphs (B) 
and (C), the term ‘misdemeanor crime of stalking’ means 
an offense that— 
‘‘(i) is a misdemeanor under Federal, State, 
Tribal, or local law; and 
‘‘(ii) has as an element a course of harassment, 
intimidation, or surveillance that— 
‘‘(I) places a person in reasonable fear of 
actual harm to the health or safety of— 
‘‘(aa) that person; 
‘‘(bb) an immediate family member 
(as defined in section 115) of that person; 
‘‘(cc) an individual who shares or has 
shared a residence with that person, with-
out regard to whether the individual is re-
lated to that person; 
‘‘(dd) an intimate partner of that per-
son; or 
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‘‘(ee) the pet, service animal, or emo-
tional support animal (as those terms are 
defined in section 2266) of that person; or 
‘‘(II) causes, attempts to cause, or would 
reasonably be expected to cause emotional dis-
tress to a person described in item (aa), (bb), 
(cc), or (dd) of subclause (I). 
‘‘(B) A person shall not be considered to have been 
convicted of such an offense for purposes of this chapter, 
unless— 
‘‘(i) the person was represented by counsel in 
the case, or knowingly and intelligently waived the 
right to counsel in the case; and 
‘‘(ii) in the case of a prosecution for an offense 
described in this paragraph for which a person was 
entitled to a jury trial in the jurisdiction in which 
the case was tried, either— 
‘‘(I) the case was tried by a jury; or 
‘‘(II) the person knowingly and intel-
ligently waived the right to have the case tried 
by a jury, by guilty plea or otherwise. 
‘‘(C) A person shall not be considered to have been 
convicted of such an offense for purposes of this chapter 
if the conviction has been expunged or set aside, or is an 
offense for which the person has been pardoned or has 
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had civil rights restored (if the law of the applicable juris-
diction provides for the loss of civil rights under such an 
offense) unless the pardon, expungement, or restoration 
of civil rights expressly provides that the person may not 
ship, transport, possess, or receive firearms.’’; and 
(2) in section 922— 
(A) in subsection (d)— 
(i) by redesignating paragraphs (10) 
and (11) as paragraphs (11) and (12), re-
spectively; 
(ii) by inserting after paragraph (9) 
the following: 
‘‘(10) has been convicted in any court of a mis-
demeanor crime of stalking;’’; and 
(iii) in paragraph (12), as so redesig-
nated, by striking ‘‘(10)’’ and inserting 
‘‘(11)’’; and 
(B) in subsection (g)— 
(i) in paragraph (8), by striking ‘‘or’’ 
at the end; 
(ii) in paragraph (9), by striking the 
comma at the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; 
and 
(iii) by inserting after paragraph (9) 
the following: 
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‘‘(10) has been convicted in any court of a mis-
demeanor crime of stalking,’’. 
Æ 
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