Lori Jackson Domestic Violence Survivor Protection Act
Bill: S.763 | Sponsor: Sen. Blumenthal, Richard (D-CT)
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement

Summary:
Lori Jackson Domestic Violence Survivor Protection Act
This bill makes changes to the federal statutory framework that prohibits the shipment, transport, receipt, or possession of firearms or ammunition by an individual who is subject to a qualifying domestic violence court order.
Under current law, a qualifying domestic violence court order must meet certain criteria, including to (1) be issued after a hearing of which the individual had notice and an opportunity to participate; and (2) restrain the individual from harassing, stalking, or threatening an intimate partner (i.e., a current or former spouse, a co-parent of a child, or a current or former cohabitant) or the child of an intimate partner.
This bill expands the scope of qualifying domestic violence court orders to include an order that
Current law also prohibits an individual who is convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence from shipping, transporting, receiving, or possessing firearms or ammunition. These restrictions generally only apply to spouses, co-parents, and cohabitants, and to offenses that involve physical force or deadly weapons. This bill expands the scope of these restrictions to include dating partners and offenses that involve stalking.


To amend title 18, United States Code, to protect more victims of 
   domestic violence by preventing their abusers from possessing or 
              receiving firearms, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Lori Jackson Domestic Violence 
Survivor Protection Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS OF ``INTIMATE PARTNER'' AND ``MISDEMEANOR CRIME OF 
              DOMESTIC VIOLENCE'' EXPANDED.

    Section 921(a) of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by inserting before paragraph (32) the following:
            ``(31) The term `covered domestic violence court order' 
        means a court order--
                    ``(A) that was issued--
                            ``(i) after a hearing of which such person 
                        received actual notice, and at which such 
                        person had an opportunity to participate; or
                            ``(ii) in the case of an ex parte order, 
                        relative to which notice and opportunity to be 
                        heard are provided--
                                    ``(I) within the time required by 
                                State, tribal, or territorial law; and
                                    ``(II) in any event within a 
                                reasonable time after the order is 
                                issued, sufficient to protect the due 
                                process rights of the person;
                    ``(B) that restrains such person from--
                            ``(i) harassing, stalking, or threatening 
                        an intimate partner of such person or child of 
                        such intimate partner or person, or engaging in 
                        other conduct that would place an intimate 
                        partner in reasonable fear of bodily injury to 
                        the partner or child; or
                            ``(ii) intimidating or dissuading a witness 
                        from testifying in court; and
                    ``(C) that--
                            ``(i) includes a finding that such person 
                        represents a credible threat to the physical 
                        safety of such individual described in 
                        subparagraph (B); or
                            ``(ii) by its terms explicitly prohibits 
                        the use, attempted use, or threatened use of 
                        physical force against such individual 
                        described in subparagraph (B) that would 
                        reasonably be expected to cause bodily 
                        injury.'';
            (2) in paragraph (32), by striking all that follows after 
        ``The term `intimate partner''' and inserting the following: 
        ``--
            ``(A) means, with respect to a person, the spouse of the 
        person, a former spouse of the person, an individual who is a 
        parent of a child of the person, and an individual who 
        cohabitates or has cohabited with the person; and
            ``(B) includes--
                    ``(i) a dating partner (as defined in section 2266) 
                or former dating partner; and
                    ``(ii) any other person similarly situated to a 
                spouse who is protected by the domestic or family 
                violence laws of the State, local, or tribal 
                jurisdiction in which the injury occurred or where the 
                victim resides.''; and
            (3) in paragraph (33)(A)--
                    (A) in clause (i), by inserting after ``Federal, 
                State,'' the following: ``municipal,''; and
                    (B) in clause (ii)--
                            (i) by striking ``or the threatened'' and 
                        inserting ``the threatened'';
                            (ii) by inserting ``or stalking'' after 
                        ``deadly weapon''; and
                            (iii) by inserting ``dating partner (as 
                        defined in section 2266),'' after ``spouse,'' 
                        each place it appears.

SEC. 3. UNLAWFUL SALE OF FIREARM TO A PERSON SUBJECT TO COURT ORDER.

    Section 922(d)(8) of title 18, United States Code, is amended to 
read as follows:
            ``(8) is subject to a covered domestic violence court 
        order; or''.

SEC. 4. LIST OF PERSONS SUBJECT TO A RESTRAINING OR SIMILAR ORDER 
              PROHIBITED FROM POSSESSING OR RECEIVING A FIREARM 
              EXPANDED.

    Section 922(g)(8) of title 18, United States Code, is amended to 
read as follows:
            ``(8) who is subject to a covered domestic violence court 
        order; or''.

SEC. 5. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

    The NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007 (34 U.S.C. 40902 et 
seq.) is amended--
            (1) in section 3(1) (34 U.S.C. 40903(1)), by striking 
        ``court order (as described in section 922(g)(8)'' and 
        inserting ``covered domestic violence court order (as defined 
        in section 921(a)''; and
            (2) in section 102(b)(1)(C)(v) (34 U.S.C. 
        40912(b)(1)(C)(v)), by striking ``court order described in 
        section 922(g)(8)'' and inserting ``covered domestic violence 
        court order, as defined in section 921(a)''.
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