Brittney McNamara
The House of Representatives is set to vote this week on renewing the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), which lapsed in February, but there's one problem: The National Rifle Association (NRA), the country's biggest gun lobby, is against it.
The VAWA was passed in 1994 and renewed periodically thereafter, ensuring protections for victims of domestic and dating violence. The act expired in February for the first time since its passage, as House Democrats opted not to include an extension of the bill without any additions in a government funding bill. Now, lawmakers are set to vote on renewing the act, but the NRA and its supporters are up in arms about a new provision to the act that would close what's known as "the boyfriend loophole," a loophole in federal law that allows convicted stalkers and abusive dating partners to buy and carry guns because they are not married to their victims.
"Every day, an average of three women are murdered by boyfriends or husbands. When a gun is present in a situation of domestic abuse, a woman is five times more likely to be killed," Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI) said in a video about the addition to VAWA that she and senator and presidential hopeful Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) proposed, which the NRA is now lobbying against. "Domestic abusers are prohibited from buying or owning a firearm if they've ever been married to the victim, lived together, or had a child. But a dangerous ex-boyfriend or dating partner — there's nothing to stop them."
"This is bad news for women since just as many women are killed by dating partners as by spouses," Klobuchar said in the video. "That's why we introduced legislation to protect all people and close this dangerous loophole."
According to the New York Times, Dingell and Klobuchar's proposed addition to VAWA would make it so that current and former dating partners could be convicted of domestic abuse — not just spouses — therefore making it so those people could not obtain guns. A spokesperson for the NRA told the Times that the provision is "too broad and ripe for abuse.”
“How it’s written right now, you could be convicted for a misdemeanor stalking offense for a tweet that causes someone emotional distress and then you would be prohibited from owning a firearm,” the spokesperson said, though experts the Times spoke to refuted that characterization.
Dingell called the provision to VAWA "common-sense legislation," and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi explained the choice lawmakers have to make in a recent tweet.
"Members have a decision to make: Will they protect survivors of stalking & domestic abuse? Or are they willing to allow their convicted stalkers & abusers to have access to firearms? #VAWA," she wrote.
According to Everytown for Gun Safety, on average, at least 52 women each month are fatally shot by an intimate partner, and many more are injured. Beyond that, most mass shootings in the U.S. are related to domestic or family violence, according to the organization. Everytown called the relationship between gun violence and domestic violence "deeply interconnected," and noted that research has shown that common-sense laws that prevent abusers from having guns can save lives.
Fortune reports that some Republicans have indicated they won't support VAWA for multiple reasons. A vote is expected on Thursday. In addition to the gun provision, the current VAWA proposed before the house would also expand housing protections for domestic violence victims and include more protections for Native American women, according to Roll Call.