Potential Research Question
Is there a relationship between the restrictiveness of state gun laws and the rate of intimate partner homicide by a firearm in each state?
Each state varies in the number and restrictiveness of gun laws. In particular, states differ in how they regulate the possession of firearms for individuals with domestic violence (intimate partner violence) related charges/restraining orders and if/how firearms can be seized from these individuals.
Background on Intimate Partner Homicide (by firearm)
In this research, intimate partner homicide is defined as the killing of an individual perpetrated by a former or current spouse or partner (ex. girlfriend/boyfriend) of the victim.
- This research will focus particularly on those homicides caused the perpetrator’s use of a firearm.
At this time, there has been plentiful research noting the high number of intimate partner homicides perpetrated using a firearm in the United States. I will include some examples of applicable research findings below to show the relevance of this issue:
From 2002: “Nearly one-third of all women murdered in the United States in recent years were murdered by a current or former intimate partner… Of females killed with a firearm, almost two-thirds of were killed by their intimate partners… Access to firearms increases the risk of intimate partner homicide more than five times more than in instances where there are no weapons, according to a recent study.” Source
From 2017: “Every year, more than 1800 persons in the United States are killed by their intimate partners, and approximately 50% of these homicides are committed with firearms. Approximately 85% of victims of intimate partner homicide (IPH) are women, and IPH accounts for nearly 50% of all homicides involving women in the United States each year.” Source
From 2022: “In an average month, 57 women are shot and killed by an intimate partner—and over 4.5 million American women report being threatened with a gun by an intimate partner.” Souce
Given the prevalence of intimate partner homicides using a firearm, this research project aims to investigate how state legislation regulating firearm possession and seizures may influence intimate partner homicide rates.
- Since 1996, federal law bans possession of a firearm for anyone convicted of a felony or of a domestic violence misdemeanor crime or with a domestic violence related protective order against them:
- GUN BAN FOR INDIVIDUALS CONVICTED OF A MISDEMEANOR CRIME OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE – 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9): “The 1968 Gun Control Act and subsequent amendments codified at 18 U.S.C. § 921 et seq. prohibit anyone convicted of a felony and anyone subject to a domestic violence protective order from possessing a firearm. The intended effect of this new legislation is to extend the firearms ban to anyone convicted of a ‘misdemeanor crime of domestic violence’.” Source
- Despite the baseline provided by federal law, states vary significantly in the strength of domestic violence firearm laws.
- “While federal law already bars most people convicted of misdemeanor domestic abuse from having guns, a separate state prohibition is important to ensure the law is enforced properly. The best states have closed the “boyfriend loophole,” going beyond the federal prohibition — which applies only to spouses, those who share a child, and co-habitants — to cover all dating partners.” This loophole also applies to the domestic violence protective order provision. Source
- While federal law states that convicted domestic violence abusers must relinquish any firearms, each state varies in the enforcement and logistical clarity of this process. Furthermore, some states exclude domestic violence firearm bans entirely from their legislation or limit the bans to specific timelines (ex. probation term). Source
- Mississippi is an example of a state with very limited firearm legislation pertaining to domestic violence. Mississippi state law does not explicitly prohibit individuals who are “convicted of domestic violence misdemeanors from purchasing or possessing firearms or ammunition”. The state also does not require “courts to notify people when they become prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition under state or federal law due to domestic violence”. Additionally, Mississippi law does not “explicitly authorize or require the removal of firearms or ammunition at the scene of a domestic violence incident”. Source
- California is an example of a state that has enacted many thorough provisions related to domestic violence firearm legislation. For example, it allows for courts to prohibit firearm possession for those charged (not yet convicted) of domestic violence misdemeanors. It also expands the definition of domestic violence protective orders (which prohibit firearm purchase/possession) to include “spouse/former spouse, current/former dating partner, any person who is presently or has in the past resided with the individual, any family member (even if the respondent has never resided with the individual)”. Additionally, California law requires immediate relinquishment of firearms to law enforcement, and failure to do so allows for the issuance of a warrant allowing law enforcement to search and seize firearms. Source
Potential Data Sources
Throughout the next few weeks, I will work on applying some basic scraping and natural language processing executions to gather and evaluate language used (or not used) in state firearm legislation pertaining to domestic violence offenders/situations. I will also work on gathering and cleaning data on intimate partner homicide rates perpetrated with a firearm.
Current sources on state firearm legislation:
Current sources on intimate partner homicide: