F R O M
T H E
S T A T E
A T T O R N E Y
An d re w H. Wa r re n - St at e At t o r n ey fo r t h e T h i r t e e n t h Ju d i c i a l Ci rc u i t
Domestic abusers and guns:
a Deadly Combination
rom Sutherland Springs to Rancho Tehama
to right here in Hillsborough, the tragedies
surround us. Before his murderous rampage
at a Texas church on November 5 that killed
more than 25 people, Devan Patrick Kelley
had been convicted of domestic violence, which should
have prevented him from possessing a firearm. Eight days
later, Kevin Janson Neal killed his wife before going on a
shooting spree that left four others dead. Neal had prior
run-ins with the law, including having been the subject of
a domestic violence incident the day before the shootings.
The connection between mass shootings and domestic
violence is well-documented. More than half of mass
shootings in America from 2009 to 2016 were related to
domestic violence. The deadly combination of guns and
domestic violence, however, extends far beyond mass
shootings. Every day in America, a woman is murdered by
a domestic partner using a gun.
The statistics are alarming: 56 percent of domestic
violence homicides are committed using a gun, and the
presence of a gun during a domestic violence incident
increases the risk of homicide by 500 percent. In
Hillsborough County, a domestic violence offense occurs
every 80 minutes. From 2012-2016, there were 61
domestic violence homicides in the county. But the
numbers only tell part of the story. In the State Attorney’s
Office, there are multiple cases pending against men, with
a history of domestic violence, charged with killing their
spouses or girlfriends. Victims speak of the paralyzing fear
caused by an abusive partner who owns a gun. Our law
enforcement partners recognize the inherent danger when
responding to a domestic violence call where one of the
parties is armed. The case files, the victims, and the law
enforcement officers — in addition to the statistics — all
lead to an inescapable conclusion: we must do something.
The State Attorney’s Office is working with law
enforcement and domestic violence organizations to
reduce gun violence and threats committed by domestic
10
F
ultimately, by removing guns from the hands of convicts and
domestic abusers, we can protect law enforcement officers,
safeguard and support victims, and possibly save lives.
abusers. Specifically, the Office is seeking to dispossess
domestic abusers of their guns by aggressively enforcing
existing laws that prohibit any person convicted of
domestic violence or subject to a final injunction
stemming from a domestic incident from having a
firearm. In short, law enforcement officers conduct an
initial risk assessment when responding to a domestic
violence incident to determine the presence of a gun, and
then the State Attorney’s Office uses that information to
require the offender to relinquish the gun where
prohibited by law or as a condition of release, probation,
or entry into a diversion program, where appropriate.
This multi-faceted approach will take guns away from
those legally prohibited from owning them; make victims
feel safer and encourage the reporting of domestic
violence incidents; simplify the prosecution of domestic
abusers; remove illegal guns from the community; and
alert law enforcement regarding the possible presence of
a firearm when responding to an incident. Ultimately, by
removing guns from the hands of convicts and domestic
abusers, we can protect law enforcement officers,
safeguard and support victims, and possibly save lives.
JAN - FEB 2018
|
HCBA LAWYER