Essay On Gun Violence Against Women

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TIME TO BLOCK GUN VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN If October is like every other month, 46 women in the United States will be murdered with a gun by an intimate partner. Public attention was gripped by the most recent mass shooting, at the Navy Yard in Washington, but during Domestic Violence Awareness month, we need to focus on the fact that women face a heightened risk of gun violence. Women are more than three-and-a-half times as likely to be killed by an intimate partner as men. A gun in a household with a history of domestic violence increases by 20 times the risk that a woman will be killed there, compared to households without guns. Similarly, more than 75 percent of stalking victims are women — and stalkers use weapons to harm or threaten their victims in 1 out of 5 cases. The statistics show: Guns plus a history of domestic violence or stalking equals increased risk of death to women. Tragically, there are numerous stories that…show more content…
Why? Because federal laws have significant loopholes that permit dangerous predators easy access to guns. Women legislators — Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) in the Senate and Representatives Lois Capps (D-Calif.) and Janice Hahn (D-Calif.) in the House — have introduced bills to address these issues. Their bills are still in committee and we urge Congress to act quickly to pass this important legislation to better protect women. There are four significant weaknesses in the current law that leave women vulnerable to gun violence. First, background checks are not required for all gun sales. The current background check system makes it easy for felons and domestic abusers to buy guns with no questions asked from unlicensed sellers at gun shows, online and just about anywhere else. This is how Daniel's killer was able to buy the gun he used to murder his estranged wife and two others, despite the restraining order against

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