[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 2]
[House]
[Page 1739]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          TEEN DATING VIOLENCE AWARENESS AND PREVENTION MONTH

  (Mr. DOLD asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. DOLD. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize February as Teen 
Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month.
  One in three teens will experience some form of abuse in a dating 
relationship. As a father of three young children, I recognize that 
this is not a partisan problem, but rather a violation of basic human 
rights that demands immediate action. I believe it is our collective 
responsibility as mentors, leaders, and even parents, to find a way to 
protect our youth and to prevent them from dating abuse.
  While current Federal law prohibits someone from purchasing a handgun 
if they are convicted of abusing someone they live with, unfortunately, 
victims who have been abused by a current or former dating partner are 
not protected.
  Abuse of a dating partner is unacceptable as domestic abuse, plain 
and simple, which is why I introduced the Zero Tolerance for Domestic 
Abusers Act with my good friend, Congresswoman Debbie Dingell. I 
encourage all of my colleagues to support this important bipartisan 
effort.
  In the meantime, we can make a difference by encouraging our schools, 
community-based organizations, parents, and teens to come together to 
combat teen dating violence.

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