Does Concealed Carry Have A Domestic Violence Loophole?
From the Chicago Tribune
Domestic violence has long been a controversial issue in the national debate over gun rights. But until Illinois was forced by the courts to make sweeping changes in its gun laws, the state never had to grapple with this question: Should people with a history of domestic violence be allowed to carry guns in public?
Though lawmakers took an additional step to weed out convicted batterers in a concealed carry law passed by the General Assembly last year, some critics have said it leaves a loophole that could allow some violent abusers to slip under the radar.
Under the law, a person can be arrested for any offense, including domestic battery, up to five times within a seven-year period before being denied a permit to carry a firearm in public.
Those who work with domestic violence victims said that by the time someone has had multiple arrests, it may be too late. They fear that women will be placed in grave danger because domestic violence often goes unreported. When there is an arrest, charges often are dropped because the victim chooses not to pursue the case, they said.
"What the research shows is that when there are firearms in the home of a domestic violence relationship, the potential for homicide increases by 500 percent," said Dawn Dalton, executive director of the Chicago Metropolitan Battered Women's Network, citing a 2003 study published in the American Journal of Public Health. "Why would we want people who are choosing to break the law to have a firearm?"
Some gun rights advocates argue that an abuser who wants to kill would do it whether a gun is accessible or not. They also note that an arrest is different from a conviction for a reason: Sometimes people who are arrested for crimes are not guilty of them.
Read more in our daily News Update...
From the Chicago Tribune
Domestic violence has long been a controversial issue in the national debate over gun rights. But until Illinois was forced by the courts to make sweeping changes in its gun laws, the state never had to grapple with this question: Should people with a history of domestic violence be allowed to carry guns in public?
Though lawmakers took an additional step to weed out convicted batterers in a concealed carry law passed by the General Assembly last year, some critics have said it leaves a loophole that could allow some violent abusers to slip under the radar.
Under the law, a person can be arrested for any offense, including domestic battery, up to five times within a seven-year period before being denied a permit to carry a firearm in public.
Those who work with domestic violence victims said that by the time someone has had multiple arrests, it may be too late. They fear that women will be placed in grave danger because domestic violence often goes unreported. When there is an arrest, charges often are dropped because the victim chooses not to pursue the case, they said.
"What the research shows is that when there are firearms in the home of a domestic violence relationship, the potential for homicide increases by 500 percent," said Dawn Dalton, executive director of the Chicago Metropolitan Battered Women's Network, citing a 2003 study published in the American Journal of Public Health. "Why would we want people who are choosing to break the law to have a firearm?"
Some gun rights advocates argue that an abuser who wants to kill would do it whether a gun is accessible or not. They also note that an arrest is different from a conviction for a reason: Sometimes people who are arrested for crimes are not guilty of them.
Read more in our daily News Update...