ARS Applauds NJ Senate Law & Public Safety Committee for Advancing Bill That Limits Domestic Abusers’ Access to Guns

June 10, 2015

June 11, 2015 – Hayley Zachary, the Executive Director of Americans for Responsible Solutions (ARS), the gun violence prevention organization founded by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and Capt. Mark Kelly, issued the below statement today on the New Jersey Senate Law and Public Safety Committee’s bipartisan, unamious vote to advance Bill 4218, which addresses potential gaps in New Jersey law and would help protect domestic violence victims from abusers with access to firearms. Her statement:

A4218 will help strengthen New Jersey’s laws by:

Requiring domestic abusers to surrender all of their guns if a domestic violence restraining order is in effect, or if they’re convicted of a domestic violence crime.
Suspending the gun purchaser ID cards and permits of abusers;
Revoking such cards if an abuser is convicted of a domestic violence crime;
Requiring the cross-checking of records to determine if an abuser owns a firearm.

Nationally, women in the U.S. are 11 times likely to be murdered with a gun than women in other developed countries, and more than half of all murders of America’s women are committed with a gun. Abused women are also five times more likely to be killed by their abuser if that individual has access to a firearm.

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Americans for Responsible Solutions (ARS) is committed to finding sensible ways to reduce gun violence and encouraging elected officials to enact responsible firearms policies that protect the Second Amendment. Founded by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and retired Navy combat veteran and NASA astronaut Captain Mark Kelly, today ARS stands more than 800,000 strong. Learn more at www.responsiblesolutions.org and at @Resp_Solutions.

Connect with Gabby Giffords, Mark Kelly, and ARS:

Twitter: @GabbyGiffords, @ShuttleCDRKelly, and @Resp_Solutions

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Website: www.responsiblesolutions.org