According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, the State of Illinois in a past year had 65,800 intimate violence incidents reported to law enforcement, and experts expect that many other incidents went unreported. Of those, there were 84 domestic violence-related fatalities in the state, including 15 children. Furthermore, nationwide, a third of all women and a fourth of all men have experienced some form of physical violence that was committed by an intimate partner.
To protect victims of domestic violence, Illinois has enacted strong laws to keep offenders away from victims and prevent them from having access to firearms. According to state law, anyone who has been convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence or stalking is prohibited from owning a firearm. This ban extends to anyone who has been subjected to a temporary protective order, who must then relinquish any weapons in their possession to a "qualified person."