[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 737 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 737

  Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the 
relationship between firearm violence and intimate partner violence and 
  to honor the memory of Gladys Ricart and other victims of intimate 
      partner homicide killed by firearms, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 28, 2023

 Mr. Espaillat (for himself, Mrs. Dingell, Ms. Lee of California, Ms. 
    Kelly of Illinois, and Ms. Jackson Lee) submitted the following 
    resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the 
relationship between firearm violence and intimate partner violence and 
  to honor the memory of Gladys Ricart and other victims of intimate 
      partner homicide killed by firearms, and for other purposes.

Whereas domestic violence perpetrated with a firearm disproportionately affects 
        millions of American adults and children, with a particular impact on 
        women;
Whereas, according to recent data, nearly 92 percent of women killed by firearms 
        in high-income countries in an average year are from the United States;
Whereas firearms are used in nearly 66 percent of cases where women are killed 
        by their intimate partners;
Whereas every month an average of 57 women are killed with a firearm by an 
        intimate partner;
Whereas an American woman is killed with a firearm by a current or former 
        partner around every 12 hours;
Whereas approximately 59 percent of mass shootings in recent years were 
        connected to instances of domestic or intimate partner violence;
Whereas only 16 percent of victims in domestic violence-related mass shootings 
        survive such incidents compared to 37 percent of victims in mass 
        shootings unrelated to domestic violence;
Whereas nearly 1 in 10 United States adults have experienced nonfatal firearm 
        abuse at the hands of an intimate partner, such as being threatened 
        directly with a firearm or by a partner who possessed or had easy access 
        to a firearm;
Whereas, when an abusive partner has access to a firearm, a female victim of 
        such abuse is five times more likely to be killed;
Whereas 80 percent of firearm intimate partner homicide victims are female;
Whereas the deadly intersection of firearms and intimate partner violence 
        affects all women, but it has a disproportionate impact on Black women, 
        American Indian/Alaska Native women, and Hispanic women in the United 
        States;
Whereas 1 in 3 Hispanic women in the United States experience intimate partner 
        violence during their lifetime;
Whereas more than half of American Indian and Alaska Native women experience 
        physical violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime; and
Whereas compared to non-Hispanic White women, Black women in the United States 
        are three times more likely to be fatally shot by an intimate partner, 
        and nearly five times more likely to be fatally shot between the ages of 
        18 and 34: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That--
            (1) the House of Representatives--
                    (A) recognizes the relationship between firearm 
                violence and intimate partner violence;
                    (B) commends domestic violence victim advocates, 
                domestic violence victim service providers, crisis 
                hotline staff, and first responders serving victims of 
                domestic violence for their compassionate support of 
                survivors of domestic violence; and
                    (C) pledges to fund comprehensive research on the 
                nexus of firearms and intimate partner violence, 
                including the disproportionate impact on Black, 
                American Indian/Alaska Native, and Hispanic people; and
            (2) it is the sense of the House of Representatives that 
        the Congress should--
                    (A) strengthen the National Instant Criminal 
                Background Check System to keep firearms out of the 
                hands of those who are prohibited from possessing them;
                    (B) restrict access to firearms by all people 
                subject to domestic violence restraining orders;
                    (C) continue to support programs designed to assist 
                survivors of domestic violence, hold perpetrators of 
                domestic violence accountable, and bring an end to 
                domestic violence;
                    (D) continue to support local relinquishment 
                processes to ensure compliance with Federal firearm 
                prohibitions in domestic violence cases; and
                    (E) immediately consider H.R. 905, the 
                Strengthening Protections for Domestic Violence and 
                Stalking Survivors Act of 2023, H.R. 715, the 
                Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2023, and all other 
                relevant legislation that is targeted towards reducing 
                the risk of firearm violence, reducing the risk of 
                intimate partner violence, and recognizing and 
                combatting the deadly relationship between the two.
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