Federal Domestic Violence Firearm Law
Violence against intimate partners and family members is a public health crisis, and, given the accessibility and availability of guns in America, this violence is often perpetrated with a firearm. Firearms can be used to intimidate, control, coerce, threaten, injure, and kill intimate partners. Indeed, the presence of a firearm in the home increases the likelihood that domestic violence (DV) will escalate into a homicide by fivefold.1 Over one-third of American women have experienced intimate partner violence (IPV) in their lifetime — more than 40 million people.2 More than 20% of American women have experienced severe physical violence at the hands of an intimate partner.3 While most survive these traumatic events, far too many do not.
