COLORADO, USA — A bipartisan group of U.S. senators has come to a deal on new gun legislation.
The final bill hasn't been written yet, but senators say it includes "red flag" style laws like Colorado's where people can ask judges to take guns from those who are a danger to themselves or others. It also includes enhanced background checks and school safety and mental health programs.
The proposal would also address what is known as the "boyfriend loophole," which would ban dating partners from owning guns if they had been convicted of domestic violence against their partners. Current federal law bars only domestic abusers who are married to, live with or have a child with a victim from having a firearm.
In 2020 in Colorado, more than half of the people killed as a result of domestic violence were shot with a gun, according to state data. Most often, the victims were killed by their intimate partners.
"For women who are being abused by their partners, the risk of homicide increases five-fold when the partner also owns a firearm," said Margaret Abrams, Executive Director of the Rose Andom Center.
Her organization provides resources to domestic violence victims. Because of the data, she supports restricting more offenders from owning guns.
"If you have abuse present, women are just as likely to be killed by dating partners as by spouses," Abrams said.
According to state data, more than 70% of the intimate partners had a history of domestic violence assaults and stalking their victims.
The proposal is supported by at least 10 Democrats and 10 Republicans, which is the minimum number of GOP votes needed to pass legislation like this in the Senate. The Democratic-controlled House passed several gun control measures last week that were unlikely to make it through the Senate.
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