Gabrielle Giffords, Mark Kelly seek tougher Oregon, U.S. gun laws for domestic abusers
Gabrielle Giffords, Mark Kelly seek tougher Oregon, U.S. gun laws for domestic abusers
The Oregonian
May 14, 2015
Oregon is leading the way in making communities and families safer with its new law expanding gun sale background checks to include private transactions, according to former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and her retired astronaut husband, Mark Kelly.
“This week, Oregon took a very positive step,” Kelly said Wednesday in Salem, referring to Gov. Kate Brown’s signing Monday of Senate Bill 941, “and over time we’re going to see less people die in the state of Oregon.”
Kelly and Giffords, who was serving as an Arizona Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives when she was shot in the head during a 2011 Tucson appearance, were in the state Capitol Wednesday to push for federal and state legislation that would better protect women and children from gun violence. They were speaking as co-founders of their advocacy group, Americans for Responsible Solutions.
In addition to meeting privately with Brown and state lawmakers, they made a public pitch at the Center for Hope & Safety, a 43-year-old Salem nonprofit that serves women and children who have experienced domestic violence. The couple chose the Center for Hope & Safety because it was highly recommended by the Oregon Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, said Americans for Responsible Solutions spokesman Mark Prentice.
During a press conference in the center’s second-floor community room, Giffords gave a brief prepared statement that began, “Dangerous people with guns are a threat to women.”
Gun violence is a women’s issue, she said, and women can lead the way in addressing it with common sense and responsibility. “We can change our laws. We can win elections,” she said. “Please join your voice with mine.”
At the federal level, Americans for Responsible Solutions is supporting Senate Bill 1290, introduced by Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn. Among other things, it would expand the definition of domestic partnerships and close a loophole for stalking offenders.
Kelly said federal and state laws need to acknowledge that couples who aren’t married or living together also can experience domestic violence, including violence involving guns. “Why do we allow domestic abuse to not be called what it really is?” he said.
He also said federal law prohibiting domestic abusers from possessing guns does not include those convicted of misdemeanor-level stalking crimes or those who are not living with the person they are dating.
In an interview with The Oregonian/OregonLive, he called that the “stalker gap,” saying, “Misdemeanor stalkers can buy all the guns they want – we don’t think that should be the case.”
At the state level, Senate Bill 525 would prohibit possession of a firearm or ammunition by a person who is subject to a restraining order or who has been convicted of certain misdemeanor crimes involving domestic violence.
Kelly said Oregon is already on a path to expanding the definition of domestic violence beyond married and cohabiting couples.
“I applaud Oregon for taking that extra step and even getting ahead of the federal government,” he said.
Americans for Responsible Solutions is also asking Congress to expand the federal background check system so abusers cannot access firearms and to improve states’ submission of domestic violence records to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.
Kelly said several times that he and Giffords have no objection to gun ownership and own firearms themselves. “As responsible gun owners, we feel that everybody should have to get a background check before buying a firearm,” he said.
Prentice said the couple own several handguns, including one that Kelly had while serving as a Navy combat pilot during the first Gulf War, and a.30-06 hunting rifle.