Tough Gun Law For Domestic Violence Perpetrators Made Hollow By Lack Of Resources
“There are survivors of domestic violence who have done what the system tells you to do, which is get a protective order, and they’re supposed to be safe during that,” said Colsaria Henderson, the director of programs for Next Door Solutions to Domestic Violence in San Jose. “The law tells people that they cannot access guns and that they have to relinquish those — but we’re not actually supporting that law.”
The California Health Report:
California Law Forbids Abusers To Own Guns, But Police Lack Resources To Take Them Away
California has even tougher laws that restrict an abuser’s access to ammunition and require law enforcement to confiscate firearms—either in plain view or discovered during a consensual search—at the scene of a domestic violence incident. In addition, anyone who is the subject of a domestic violence restraining order must relinquish their guns by selling them to a licensed dealer or by giving them to law enforcement within 24 hours. These laws are associated with lower rates of intimate partner homicides, according to a 2017 study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine. State relinquishment laws such as California’s are associated with a nearly 10 percent lower rate of intimate partner homicide, and a 14 percent lower rate of gun-related intimate partner homicide. (Kandil, 6/25)