[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 15 (Friday, February 15, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Page S897]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                       GUNS AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

 Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, according to the Office of Justice 
Programs, 40 percent of women killed with firearms are murdered by an 
intimate partner. In 1996, Congress passed legislation to deny firearms 
purchases to individuals who were under a domestic violence restraining 
order or convicted of a domestic violence misdemeanor. Despite the 
passage of this law many people are slipping through the system. For 
example, according to a November 1999 Washington Post article, a 
background check failed to discover that a Maryland man was the subject 
of a domestic violence restraining order that his wife had obtained. As 
a result, he was able to purchase a gun and he later shot his 3-year-
old daughter and 2-year-old son.
  To help prevent such tragedies, Congress established the National 
Criminal History Improvement Program in 1995 to provide funding to 
assist States in compiling criminal records and establishing 
identification systems as well as developing a comprehensive national 
record system. One of the goals of the NCHIP program is to ensure that 
accurate records are available to law enforcement to identify 
ineligible firearm purchasers. The NCHIP program has put special 
emphasis on ensuring that domestic violence-related offenses are 
included in criminal records. As the Washington Post article suggests, 
there is still work to be done. In fact, according to a January 2002 
study released by Americans for Gun Safety, only 30 States have 
automated records of both domestic violence misdemeanors and domestic 
violence restraining orders. Fifteen States have no automated records 
of domestic violence misdemeanors and 13 States have no automated 
records of domestic violence restraining orders.
  I have long supported programs that will ensure that guns do not get 
into the hands of criminals, as well as individuals under domestic 
violence restraining orders. The NICS system of background checks for 
gun purchases has already blocked more than 400,000 gun sales to 
ineligible persons. Continuing the NCHIP grant program will help make 
America safer by ensuring that the criminal background information is 
complete, accurate and accessible. This improves our ability to prevent 
people who commit violent acts against their family from purchasing 
firearms.

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