[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 12]
[House]
[Page 16742]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




         PROTECTING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND STALKING VICTIMS ACT

  (Mr. CICILLINE asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mr. CICILLINE. Mr. Speaker, October is Domestic Violence Awareness 
Month. This month is a time for all of us to examine the work that must 
be done so that every American can live free from the fear of domestic 
violence.
  All of us would do well this month to consider the destructive role 
that guns can and do play in incidents of domestic violence. From 2001 
until 2012, 6,410 women were killed by a gun wielded by an intimate 
partner. That number is nearly 1,100 more than the total number of 
American soldiers who were killed in Iraq and Afghanistan over the same 
time period.
  Despite this fact, many domestic abusers can still legally purchase a 
gun. There is no Federal prohibition to prevent the sale of a gun to 
someone convicted of a misdemeanor crime in a dating partner 
relationship or someone convicted of misdemeanor stalking offenses.
  I am proud to be an original cosponsor of the Protecting Domestic 
Violence and Stalking Victims Act, which Congresswoman Lois Capps has 
introduced, to close these loopholes immediately.
  Let's get to work to end this epidemic and protect the lives of women 
across our country during Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

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