On Tuesday, over 300 volunteers with the Michigan chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America and Students Demand Action, both a part of Everytown for Gun Safety, urged lawmakers to take action to help keep guns out of the hands of domestic abusers. During the day, volunteers from across the state held 70 meetings with lawmakers.
WLNS – Lansing reported:
“Emily Durbin of Moms Demand Action explains, ‘[Women] who have abusive partners are five times more likely to be killed by that partner than if that partner does not have a gun. So women and children are at risk everyday in Michigan.’Those moms, children and some dads are back for the fifth time to push this legislation.”
Michigan Public Radio reported:
“‘There’s a real enormous gap between where the lawmakers are and where their constituents are, bills that keep families safe from domestic violence; nearly everyone agrees that domestic abusers shouldn’t have access to guns,’ she says.
The advocacy groups say they’ve scheduled almost 70 meetings with lawmakers today hoping to advance the bills. Durbin says this is a chance for legislators to show they understand how guns and domestic violence overlap.
‘The intersection between domestic violence and guns is particularly deadly, so if an abuser has a gun they’re five times more likely to kill the person that they’ve been abusing,’ she says.”
Since the introduction of a bipartisan domestic violence prevention package in April, House Judiciary Committee Chair Graham Filler has yet to hold a single hearing on the proposal. The bipartisan package, HB 4497 and HB 4498, would close dangerous gaps in Michigan’s law and help keep guns out of the hands of domestic abusers, helping to protect women and children from deadly gun violence.
In Michigan, between 2013-2017, at least 76 women were killed in intimate partner gun homicides. Guns are the weapon of choice for domestic abusers – firearms were used in 55 percent of homicides where a woman was killed by an intimate partner in the state.
Here are some photos from the Michigan chapter’s advocacy day:
Statistics about gun violence in Michigan are available here, and information on how Michigan’s gun laws compare to other states’ overall is available here.
If you have any questions, or would like to speak with volunteers with Michigan Moms Demand Action, Students Demand Action or survivors of gun violence, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
