[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 5]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 6675]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               PREVENTING VICTIMS OF STALKING ACT OF 2013

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JANICE HAHN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 9, 2013

  Ms. HAHN. Mr. Speaker, under current federal law, individuals 
convicted of ``misdemeanor crimes of domestic violence'' are 
disqualified from possessing firearms. This policy has proven crucial 
to protecting victims of domestic violence from serious injury or 
death.
  However, many states do not define stalking as a type of domestic 
violence crime, allowing convicted stalkers to own and purchase 
firearms and leaving victims of stalking unprotected. Moreover, while 
federal law prohibits the sale of firearms to someone ``subject to a 
court order restraining them from harassing, stalking or threatening an 
intimate partner,'' not all stalkers have a romantic relationship with 
their victims and thus don't fall into this category. However their 
lack of a romantic relationship does not preclude the fact that they 
still pose a considerable threat to their victims.
  The Protecting Victims of Stalking Act of 2013 works to remedy these 
gaps in federal law. All victims, whether or not they have had a 
romantic relationship with their stalker, should be afforded these 
critical protections. The Protecting Victims of Stalking Act of 2013 
closes these dangerous loopholes by prohibiting the sale of firearms to 
any person subject to a restraining order for stalking as well as 
prohibiting any individual convicted of stalking from buying or 
possessing a firearm. Only by addressing these glaring vulnerabilities 
can we begin to reduce the many injuries and deaths often associated 
with domestic violence.

                          ____________________