Unrelinquished: Why do so many domestic abusers have guns?

On Thursday, October 21 at 19:30 GMT:
Every month in the United States, an estimated 57 women are shot and killed by their intimate partner. And gun ownership is at the heart of this epidemic: If her abuser has access to a gun, a woman is five times more likely to be murdered.

The right to bear arms is protected by the U.S. Constitution, but The Gun Control Act of 1968 includes restrictions on access weapons. Under the law, people convicted of felonies, and certain domestic violent crimes are barred from possessing firearms.

But the law is rarely enforced, and failing to protect people. An exclusive investigation from Fault Lines and Reveal looks at the gaps in the legislation, and the women who pay the lethal price. Between 2017 and 2020 individuals, who possessed guns they never should have had in the first place, killed at least 110 intimate partners, family, and friends.

And in a country where gun violence disproportionately impacts communities of colour, Black women are twice as likely as white women to be fatally shot by an intimate partner.

On this episode of The Stream we discuss gun violence in domestic partnerships, the policy failures that perpetuate it, and ask what can be done to stop it.

In this episode of The Stream, we are joined by:
Jennifer Gollan @JenniferGollan
Investigative reporter, Reveal
revealnews.org

Natalie Nanasi @NatalieNanasi
Hunter Legal Center for Victims of Crimes Against Women
smu.edu

Shannon Frattaroli @SF4publichealth
Professor, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
publichealth.jhu.edu