U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) is pushing for a federal law to keep people with temporary restraining orders from getting guns.
Connecticut has an average of fourteen domestic violence homicides every year.
The legislation would keep people under a temporary restraining order from buying new firearms. He hopes to pass it this session, but admitted it's more likely to be considered next year.
“Domestic violence should be a bipartisan issue,” Blumenthal said. “There should be no red or blue about protecting women.”
Courts often issue emergency and temporary restraining orders without the accused present, making the bill likely to draw criticism from Second Amendment groups.
The Lori Jackson-Nicolette Elias Domestic Violence Survivor Protection Act is named in part after Lori Jackson, a Connecticut woman who was killed in 2014 by her estranged husband. He had obtained a gun while she had a temporary restraining order against him.
Federal law already bars people with domestic violence restraining or protective orders from having or buying guns. For the ban to take effect, the person losing access to weapons must have had the opportunity to plead their case before a judge.
