Lori Jackson-Nicolette Elias Domestic Violence Survivor Protection Act

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2169 To amend title 18, United States Code, to protect more victims of domestic violence by preventing their abusers from possessing or receiving fire- arms, to amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to establish a grant program relating to the removal of firearms from adjudicated domestic violence offenders, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 22, 2021 Mr. BLUMENTHAL (for himself, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. MURPHY, Mr. MERKLEY, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. CASEY, Mr. MENENDEZ, Ms. KLO- BUCHAR, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. BOOKER, and Ms. DUCKWORTH) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To amend title 18, United States Code, to protect more victims of domestic violence by preventing their abusers from possessing or receiving firearms, to amend the Om- nibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to establish a grant program relating to the removal of firearms from adjudicated domestic violence offenders, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:44 Jun 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2169.IS S2169 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 2169 IS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Lori Jackson-Nicolette 2 Elias Domestic Violence Survivor Protection Act’’. 3 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 4 Congress finds the following: 5 (1) Congress has the responsibility to keep the 6 populace of the United States safe, and domestic 7 gun violence is a significant threat to the well-being 8 of the United States. 9 (2) Each year in the United States, more than 10 600 women are shot to death by an intimate part- 11 ner. More women are killed in the United States by 12 domestic partners than by any other type of assail- 13 ant, and most of these homicides are committed with 14 firearms. 15 (3) Approximately 4,500,000 women alive in 16 the United States today report having been threat- 17 ened with a gun by a domestic partner. 18 (4) More than half of intimate partner homi- 19 cides in the United States are committed with a fire- 20 arm. If a woman has an abusive male partner who 21 has access to a firearm, the woman is 5 times more 22 likely to be killed than she would be if the abusive 23 male partner did not have access to a firearm, and 24 domestic violence assaults involving a gun are 12 25 times more likely to result in death than domestic vi- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:44 Jun 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2169.IS S2169 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 2169 IS olence assaults involving other weapons or bodily 1 force. 2 (5) Perpetrators of intimate partner violence 3 are far more likely to commit additional acts of gun 4 violence. Nearly half of all mass shooters have com- 5 mitted acts of domestic violence. 6 (6) Victims of intimate partner violence often 7 pursue restraining orders as a means of protection 8 in the immediate aftermath of, or in conjunction 9 with, leaving dangerous partners and situations. 10 This time period is especially dangerous for victims. 11 (7) Although individuals against whom there is 12 a domestic violence restraining order are barred 13 from purchasing a firearm under section 922(g)(8) 14 of title 18, United States Code, various loopholes in 15 that section allow perpetrators to purchase and 16 maintain possession of firearms. For example, Fed- 17 eral law only protects domestic violence victims 18 against spouses, former spouses, cohabitants, former 19 cohabitants, and individuals with whom those vic- 20 tims have a child. Furthermore, under Federal law, 21 protective orders issued against domestic violence 22 abusers on an emergency or ex parte basis do not 23 prohibit those abusers from possessing or purchasing 24 firearms. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:44 Jun 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2169.IS S2169 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 2169 IS (8) Some States and local governments have 1 passed laws that go beyond the Federal baseline by 2 expanding the range of abusive partners included in 3 firearm restrictions to encompass abusive dating 4 partners. Numerous studies conducted between 2000 5 and 2017 have shown that States that pass these 6 laws experience a significant reduction in intimate 7 partner homicides. 8 (9) States that restrict access to guns to indi- 9 viduals subject to active domestic violence restrain- 10 ing orders have experienced a 13 percent reduction 11 in intimate partner homicides involving firearms. 12 (10) Congress has the power to set a national 13 standard to protect domestic violence victims who 14 seek restraining orders against abusive partners by 15 preventing those abusive partners from possessing or 16 purchasing firearms and ammunition while the re- 17 straining order is in effect. 18 SEC. 3. TITLE 18 AMENDMENTS. 19 (a) DEFINITIONS OF ‘‘INTIMATE PARTNER’’ AND 20 ‘‘MISDEMEANOR CRIME OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE’’ EX- 21 PANDED.—Section 921(a) of title 18, United States Code, 22 is amended— 23 (1) by inserting before paragraph (32) the fol- 24 lowing: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:44 Jun 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2169.IS S2169 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 2169 IS ‘‘(31) The term ‘covered domestic violence court 1 order’ means a court order, with respect to a per- 2 son— 3 ‘‘(A)(i) that was issued after a hearing of 4 which the person received actual notice, and at 5 which the person had an opportunity to partici- 6 pate; or 7 ‘‘(ii) in the case of an ex parte order, rel- 8 ative to which notice and opportunity to be 9 heard are provided— 10 ‘‘(I) within the time required by 11 State, Tribal, or territorial law; and 12 ‘‘(II) in any event within a reasonable 13 time after the order is issued, sufficient to 14 protect the due process rights of the per- 15 son; 16 ‘‘(B) that restrains the person from— 17 ‘‘(i) harassing, stalking, or threat- 18 ening an intimate partner of the person or 19 child of the intimate partner or person, or 20 engaging in other conduct that would place 21 an intimate partner in reasonable fear of 22 bodily injury to the partner or child; or 23 ‘‘(ii) intimidating or dissuading a wit- 24 ness from testifying in court; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:44 Jun 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2169.IS S2169 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 2169 IS ‘‘(C) that— 1 ‘‘(i) includes a finding that the person 2 represents a credible threat to the physical 3 safety of an individual described in sub- 4 paragraph (B); or 5 ‘‘(ii) by its terms explicitly prohibits 6 the use, attempted use, or threatened use 7 of physical force against an individual de- 8 scribed in subparagraph (B) that would 9 reasonably be expected to cause bodily in- 10 jury.’’; 11 (2) in paragraph (32), by striking all that fol- 12 lows after ‘‘The term ‘intimate partner’ ’’ and insert- 13 ing the following: ‘‘— 14 ‘‘(A) means, with respect to a person, the 15 spouse of the person, a former spouse of the person, 16 an individual who is a parent of a child of the per- 17 son, and an individual who cohabitates or has 18 cohabited with the person; and 19 ‘‘(B) includes— 20 ‘‘(i) a dating partner (as defined in section 21 2266) or former dating partner; and 22 ‘‘(ii) any other individual similarly situated 23 to a spouse who is protected by the domestic or 24 family violence laws of the State, local, or Trib- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:44 Jun 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2169.IS S2169 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 2169 IS al jurisdiction in which the injury occurred or 1 where the victim resides.’’; and 2 (3) in paragraph (33)(A)— 3 (A) in clause (i), by inserting after ‘‘Fed- 4 eral, State,’’ the following: ‘‘municipal,’’; and 5 (B) in clause (ii)— 6 (i) by striking ‘‘or the threatened’’ 7 and inserting ‘‘the threatened’’; 8 (ii) by inserting ‘‘or stalking,’’ after 9 ‘‘deadly weapon,’’; and 10 (iii) by inserting ‘‘dating partner (as 11 defined in section 2266),’’ after ‘‘spouse,’’ 12 each place it appears. 13 (b) UNLAWFUL SALE OF FIREARM TO A PERSON 14 SUBJECT TO COURT ORDER.—Section 922(d)(8) of title 15 18, United States Code, is amended to read as follows: 16 ‘‘(8) is subject to a covered domestic violence 17 court order; or’’. 18 (c) LIST OF PERSONS SUBJECT TO A RESTRAINING 19 OR SIMILAR ORDER PROHIBITED FROM POSSESSING OR 20 RECEIVING A FIREARM EXPANDED.—Section 922(g)(8) 21 of title 18, United States Code, is amended to read as 22 follows: 23 ‘‘(8) who is subject to a covered domestic vio- 24 lence court order; or’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:44 Jun 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2169.IS S2169 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 2169 IS (d) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 1 The NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007 (34 2 U.S.C. 40902 et seq.) is amended— 3 (1) in section 3(1) (34 U.S.C. 40903(1)), by 4 striking ‘‘court order (as described in section 5 922(g)(8)’’ and inserting ‘‘covered domestic violence 6 court order (as defined in section 921(a)’’; and 7 (2) in section 102(b)(1)(C)(v) (34 U.S.C. 8 40912(b)(1)(C)(v)), by striking ‘‘court order de- 9 scribed in section 922(g)(8)’’ and inserting ‘‘covered 10 domestic violence court order, as defined in section 11 921(a)’’. 12 SEC. 4. GRANT PROGRAM. 13 (a) AMENDMENT.—Title I of the Omnibus Crime 14 Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10101 15 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 16 ‘‘PART PP—GRANT PROGRAM REGARDING RE- 17 MOVAL OF FIREARMS FROM ADJUDICATED 18 DOMESTIC VIOLENCE PARTIES 19 ‘‘SEC. 3061. DEFINITIONS. 20 ‘‘In this part: 21 ‘‘(1) AMMUNITION; FIREARM.—The terms ‘am- 22 munition’ and ‘firearm’ have the meanings given 23 those terms in section 921 of title 18, United States 24 Code. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:44 Jun 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2169.IS S2169 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 2169 IS ‘‘(2) COVERED ENTITY.—The term ‘covered en- 1 tity’ means— 2 ‘‘(A) a State; 3 ‘‘(B) an Indian Tribe; or 4 ‘‘(C) a unit of local government. 5 ‘‘(3) DOMESTIC VIOLENCE PROTECTION 6 ORDER.—The term ‘domestic violence protection 7 order’ has the meaning given the term ‘covered do- 8 mestic violence court order’ in section 921 of title 9 18, United States Code. 10 ‘‘SEC. 3062. GRANT PROGRAM. 11 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY TO MAKE GRANTS.—The Attorney 12 General may make grants to covered entities to assist the 13 covered entities in carrying out the policies, procedures, 14 protocols, laws, court rules, or regulations described in 15 section 3063. 16 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE COVERED ENTITY.— 17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A covered entity shall be 18 eligible to receive a grant under this section on and 19 after the date on which the Attorney General deter- 20 mines that the covered entity has in effect policies, 21 procedures, protocols, laws, court rules, or regula- 22 tions that are substantially similar to the policies, 23 procedures, laws, court rules, or regulations de- 24 scribed in section 3063. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:44 Jun 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2169.IS S2169 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 2169 IS ‘‘(2) DETERMINATION.—In making a deter- 1 mination under paragraph (1), the Attorney General 2 may consider policies, procedures, protocols, laws, 3 court rules, or regulations of a covered entity to be 4 substantially similar to the policies, procedures, 5 laws, courts rules, or regulations described in section 6 3063 even if the policies, procedures, protocols, laws, 7 court rules, or regulations of the covered entity— 8 ‘‘(A) vary in scope; 9 ‘‘(B) prescribe different types of protective 10 orders or firearm surrender orders; or 11 ‘‘(C) provide different timing requirements. 12 ‘‘(c) USE OF FUNDS.—Grant funds awarded under 13 this section may be used by a covered entity— 14 ‘‘(1) to assist law enforcement agencies or 15 courts of the covered entity in carrying out the poli- 16 cies, procedures, protocols, laws, court rules, or reg- 17 ulations described in section 3063; and 18 ‘‘(2) in order to ensure the safety of domestic 19 violence victims after a domestic violence protection 20 order is issued in accordance with the policies, pro- 21 cedures, protocols, laws, court rules, or regulations 22 described in section 3063, to partner with and pro- 23 vide support to not less than 1 domestic violence vic- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:44 Jun 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2169.IS S2169 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •S 2169 IS tim service provider, which may include an organiza- 1 tion that is a culturally specific organization. 2 ‘‘(d) APPLICATION.— 3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A covered entity desiring a 4 grant under this section shall submit to the Attorney 5 General an application at such time, in such man- 6 ner, and containing or accompanied by such infor- 7 mation as the Attorney General may reasonably re- 8 quire. 9 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—An application submitted 10 under this subsection shall include a description of 11 an action plan of the covered entity to establish a 12 partnership described in subsection (c)(2). 13 ‘‘SEC. 3063. STATE AND TRIBAL POLICIES AND PROCE- 14 DURES. 15 ‘‘The policies, procedures, protocols, laws, court rules, 16 or regulations described in this section are policies, proce- 17 dures, protocols, laws, court rules, or regulations relating 18 to the possession of a firearm or ammunition that— 19 ‘‘(1) direct a court, upon the issuance of a do- 20 mestic violence protection order, to issue an addi- 21 tional order (referred to in this section as a ‘firearm 22 surrender order’) that— 23 ‘‘(A) is in effect for the duration of the do- 24 mestic violence protection order; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:44 Jun 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2169.IS S2169 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •S 2169 IS ‘‘(B) automatically terminates upon the ex- 1 piration of the domestic violence protection 2 order; 3 ‘‘(C) requires— 4 ‘‘(i) the individual subject to the fire- 5 arm surrender order to, not later than 24 6 hours after the firearm surrender order is 7 served, surrender physical possession of all 8 firearms and ammunition in the posses- 9 sion, care, custody, or control of the indi- 10 vidual, including any firearm that the indi- 11 vidual has entrusted or lent to a third 12 party, by either— 13 ‘‘(I) surrendering the [Text truncated for display. 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