1、CRS Legal Sidebar Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Legal SidebarLegal Sidebari i Gun Control: Federal Prohibitions on Domestic Abusers Possessing Firearms and the “Boyfriend Loophole” August 9, 2019 The Department of Justice recently announced the establishment of a “Domestic Violence
2、 Working Group” to explore challenges in prosecuting domestic abusers who violate federal firearms laws, with the goal of “using the tools of federal prosecution to stop and prevent domestic violence” by “keeping guns out of the hands of convicted domestic abusers.” Separately, in March 2019, the Ho
3、use of Representatives passed legislation reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), and part of that legislation would amend 18 U.S.C. 922, the primary statutory “tool” on which the Justice Department relies to prosecute domestic abusers who possess firearms. Among other things, Section 9
4、22 prohibits certain categories of persons from possessing firearms, and two of the categories relate to domestic violence: (1) persons convicted of a “misdemeanor crime of domestic violence,” and (2) persons subject to a restraining order with respect to an “intimate partner” or child. One or both
