Gabby Giffords & Mark Kelly Thank Oregon Legislators for Approving Bill to Keep Guns Away From Domestic Abusers

June 9, 2015 – Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and retired Navy combat veteran and NASA astronaut Capt. Mark Kelly, the Co-Founders of Americans for Responsible Solutions (ARS), issued the below statement today after the bipartisan vote in the Oregon State House to approve House Bill 525, which helps close gaps in Oregon law by ensuring that individuals convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence or named in a restraining order that has been upheld in a court hearing can’t have legal access to guns. The bill, which had previously been approved by the Oregon Senate in a bipartisan vote, now heads to Governor Kate Brown. The victory comes on the heels of enactment of background checks legislation, for which Giffords, Kelly, and ARS had also advocated. Their statement:

Last month, Congresswoman Giffords and Captain Kelly visited Salem’s Center for Hope and Safety, which serves survivors of domestic and sexual violence, and stalking, and called on lawmakers to pass the legislation and help keep guns out of the hands of domestic abusers.

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.