[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2196 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2196
To amend title 18, United States Code, to define intimate partner to
include someone with whom there is or was a dating relationship, and
for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 26 (legislative day, June 24), 2025
Ms. Klobuchar (for herself, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Kaine, Mr. Welch, Mr.
Durbin, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Markey, and Ms. Hirono) introduced the
following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on
the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title 18, United States Code, to define intimate partner to
include someone with whom there is or was a dating relationship, and
for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Strengthening Protections for
Domestic Violence and Stalking Survivors Act of 2025''.
SEC. 2. ADDRESSING INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE.
(a) Inclusion of Current and Former Dating Partners in Definition
of ``Intimate Partner''.--Section 921(a) of title 18, United States
Code, is amended--
(1) in paragraph (32)--
(A) by striking ``and an individual'' and inserting
``an individual''; and
(B) by inserting before the period at the end the
following: ``, an individual who is or was in a dating
relationship with the person, or any other individual
similarly situated to a spouse, including an individual
who is protected by the domestic or family violence
laws of the State or Tribal jurisdiction in which the
abuse occurred or the victim resides'';
(2) by striking paragraph (37)(A) and inserting the
following:
``(37)(A) The term `dating relationship' means a relationship
between individuals who have or have had, or in the case of a
misdemeanor crime of domestic violence have or have recently had, a
continuing serious relationship of a romantic or intimate nature.'';
and
(3) in paragraph (37)(C), by striking ``dating
relationship'' and inserting ``continuing serious
relationship''.
(b) Inclusion of Dating Partners' Children in Definition of
``Misdemeanor Crime of Domestic Violence''.--Section 921(a)(33)(A)(ii)
of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
(1) by striking ``victim, or by a person'' and inserting
``victim, by a person''; and
(2) by inserting ``, or by a person who has a current or
recent former dating relationship with the parent, guardian, or
person similarly situated to a parent or guardian of the
victim'' before the period at the end.
(c) New Prohibitor for Misdemeanor Crimes of Stalking.--Chapter 44
of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
(1) in section 921(a), by adding at the end the following:
``(39)(A) Except as provided in subparagraphs (B) and (C), the term
`misdemeanor crime of stalking' means an offense that--
``(i) is a misdemeanor under Federal, State, Tribal, or
local law; and
``(ii) has as an element a course of harassment,
intimidation, or surveillance that--
``(I) places a person in reasonable fear of actual
harm to the health or safety of--
``(aa) that person;
``(bb) an immediate family member (as
defined in section 115) of that person;
``(cc) an individual who shares or has
shared a residence with that person, without
regard to whether the individual is related to
that person;
``(dd) an intimate partner of that person;
or
``(ee) the pet, service animal, or
emotional support animal (as those terms are
defined in section 2266) of that person; or
``(II) causes, attempts to cause, or would
reasonably be expected to cause emotional distress to a
person described in item (aa), (bb), (cc), or (dd) of
subclause (I).
``(B) A person shall not be considered to have been convicted of
such an offense for purposes of this chapter, unless--
``(i) the person was represented by counsel in the case, or
knowingly and intelligently waived the right to counsel in the
case; and
``(ii) in the case of a prosecution for an offense
described in this paragraph for which a person was entitled to
a jury trial in the jurisdiction in which the case was tried,
either--
``(I) the case was tried by a jury; or
``(II) the person knowingly and intelligently
waived the right to have the case tried by a jury, by
guilty plea or otherwise.
``(C) A person shall not be considered to have been convicted of
such an offense for purposes of this chapter if the conviction has been
expunged or set aside, or is an offense for which the person has been
pardoned or has had civil rights restored (if the law of the applicable
jurisdiction provides for the loss of civil rights under such an
offense) unless the pardon, expungement, or restoration of civil rights
expressly provides that the person may not ship, transport, possess, or
receive firearms.''; and
(2) in section 922--
(A) in subsection (d)--
(i) by redesignating paragraphs (10) and
(11) as paragraphs (11) and (12), respectively;
(ii) by inserting after paragraph (9) the
following:
``(10) has been convicted in any court of a misdemeanor
crime of stalking;''; and
(iii) in paragraph (12), as so
redesignated, by striking ``(10)'' and
inserting ``(11)''; and
(B) in subsection (g)--
(i) in paragraph (8), by striking ``or'' at
the end;
(ii) in paragraph (9), by striking the
comma at the end and inserting ``; or''; and
(iii) by inserting after paragraph (9) the
following:
``(10) has been convicted in any court of a misdemeanor
crime of stalking,''.
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