[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 798 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 798
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the
relationship between firearm violence and intimate partner violence and
to honor the memory of Gladys Ricart and other victims of intimate
partner homicide killed by firearms, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
November 17, 2021
Mr. Espaillat (for himself, Mr. Swalwell, Mrs. Dingell, Mr. Suozzi, Ms.
Jackson Lee, Mrs. Carolyn B. Maloney of New York, Mr. Costa, Ms. Adams,
Mr. Mrvan, Mr. Raskin, Mr. Carson, Ms. Lee of California, Mr. Khanna,
Mr. David Scott of Georgia, Ms. Bonamici, and Ms. Strickland) submitted
the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the
Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Energy and Commerce,
Financial Services, Ways and Means, Education and Labor, Natural
Resources, and Veterans' Affairs, for a period to be subsequently
determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
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RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the
relationship between firearm violence and intimate partner violence and
to honor the memory of Gladys Ricart and other victims of intimate
partner homicide killed by firearms, and for other purposes.
Whereas domestic violence perpetrated with a firearm disproportionately affects
millions of American adults and children, with a particular impact on
women;
Whereas nearly 92 percent of women killed by firearms in high-income countries
were American women;
Whereas firearms are used in nearly 59 percent of cases where women are killed
by their intimate partners;
Whereas an average of 57 women are killed by their intimate partners using
firearms every month;
Whereas 59 percent of mass shootings between 2014 and 2019 were connected to
instances of domestic or intimate partner violence;
Whereas only 16 percent of victims in domestic violence-related mass shootings
survive such incidents compared to 37 percent of victims in nondomestic
violence-related mass shootings;
Whereas nearly 1 in 10 United States adults have experienced nonfatal firearm
abuse at the hands of an intimate partner, such as being threatened
directly with a firearm or by a partner who possessed or had easy access
to a firearm, or having a firearm fired or pointed at them;
Whereas 4,500,000 women in the United States reported having been threatened
with a firearm by an intimate partner;
Whereas, when an abusive male partner has access to a firearm, a female victim
of such abuse is 5 times more likely to be killed;
Whereas, in two-thirds of households with a history of abuse and with firearms
present, the abusive partner used the firearm against the victim by
threatening or otherwise terrorizing them;
Whereas over half of all intimate partner homicides are committed in never-
married relationships;
Whereas the deadly intersection of firearms and intimate partner violence
affects all women, but it has a disproportionate impact on Black,
American Indian/Alaska Native, and Hispanic women;
Whereas 1 in 3 Hispanic women have experienced intimate partner violence;
Whereas, compared to non-Hispanic White women, Black women are twice as likely
to be fatally shot by an intimate partner, and nearly 3 times more
likely at the ages between 18 and 34;
Whereas more than half of the population of American Indian/Alaska Native women
have experienced physical violence by intimate partners; and
Whereas early research shows that domestic and intimate partner violence have
increased during the COVID-19 pandemic: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That--
(1) the House of Representatives--
(A) recognizes the relationship between firearm
violence and intimate partner violence;
(B) commends domestic violence victim advocates,
domestic violence victim service providers, crisis
hotline staff, and first responders serving victims of
domestic violence for their compassionate support of
survivors of domestic violence; and
(C) pledges to fund comprehensive research on the
nexus of firearms and intimate partner violence,
including the disproportionate impact on Black,
American Indian/Alaska Native, and Hispanic people; and
(2) it is the sense of the House of Representatives that
the Congress should--
(A) strengthen the National Instant Criminal
Background Check System to keep firearms out of the
hands of those who are prohibited from possessing them;
(B) restrict access to firearms by all people
subject to domestic violence restraining orders;
(C) continue to support programs designed to assist
survivors of domestic violence, hold perpetrators of
domestic violence accountable, and bring an end to
domestic violence;
(D) continue to support local relinquishment
processes to ensure compliance with Federal firearm
prohibitions in domestic violence cases;
(E) immediately consider H.R. 1494, the Zero
Tolerance for Domestic Abusers Act, and H.R. 1441, the
No Guns for Abusers Act of 2021; and
(F) call on the Senate to immediately consider H.R.
8, the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2021, H.R.
1446, the Enhanced Background Checks Act of 2021, and
H.R. 1620, the Violence Against Women Reauthorization
Act of 2021.
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