GIFFORDS response to Trump considering arming domestic abusers

WASHINGTON — GIFFORDS, the national gun violence prevention organization founded by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, responded to the news that the Trump administration is considering a plan to allow gun rights to be restored to people who have been convicted of domestic abuse. Trump’s Department of Justice is considering a plan to create a pathway for violent domestic abusers to regain their firearm access with a weak individual review process – a dramatic risk to public safety. 

When an abusive partner has a gun, a domestic violence victim is five times more likely to be killed. Every year, more than 700 American women are shot to death by intimate partners—more than one every 12 hours. 

“If Donald Trump makes it easier for violent abusers to buy guns, it would be a death sentence for women across the country. Every lawmaker and American who values the health and safety of women should be alarmed, particularly after both conservative and liberal Supreme Court justices recognized this important protection last year and upheld disarming domestic abusers. This White House is putting the security of women last, and we will fight relentlessly to protect it,” said GIFFORDS Executive Director Emma Brown.