Opinion: Time To Modernize Extreme Risk Protection Orders

The following op-ed was written by state Sen. Will Haskell, a Democrat who represents all or parts of Bethel, New Canaan, Redding, Ridgefield, Weston, Westport and Wilton:

Here’s the sad truth: we’ll never end gun violence without addressing the many tragedies that take place at home. Intimate partners are responsible for a huge swath of gun deaths, particularly those that impact women. But these homicides are frustratingly difficult to address. Magazine capacity limits and assault weapons bans can help reduce mass shootings, but they are less effective at stopping violence within a household.

This year, the Judiciary Committee is poised to do something to prevent domestic gun violence and save lives. I’m standing with Rep. Steve Stafstrom, Sen. Gary Winfield, Moms Demand Action, Connecticut Against Gun Violence and so many more by co-sponsoring a bill that would modernize Extreme Risk Protection Orders in Connecticut. Here’s how it would work:

Under current law, when a person files for a risk protection order against another individual (for example, a woman files against her abusive ex-husband) and a judge finds that there is an imminent risk of physical harm, the judge may also issue a warrant allowing police to seize any firearms owned by the subject of the order (in this case, the ex-husband). That’s an important, common-sense and long-standing policy.

The problem is that a risk protection order does not prevent the subject from acquiring a new firearm. So, a person who poses an imminent threat of violence against a partner, child, or family member could easily purchase a new gun in Connecticut or a nearby state.

This legislation would close that loophole, and stop abusers from purchasing new weapons while subject to a risk protection order.

Why is this bill so important? Because the presence of a firearm drastically increases the likelihood that intimate partner violence will lead to a homicide, especially against women. A study in the American Journal of Public Health found that access to a gun makes it five times more likely that an abusive partner will kill his female partner.

And even if an abuser doesn’t fire a newly acquired firearm, its mere presence complicates and worsens domestic conflicts: More than one in three callers to the National Domestic Violence Hotline in 2018 reported being threatened with a firearm.

Domestic violence is a persistent problem in communities across our state: large and small, wealthy and poor. We have the opportunity here in Connecticut to pass a smart, common sense bill that closes a dangerous loophole, saves lives, and takes away another source of leverage and intimidation for abusers. I hope that my colleagues on both sides of the aisle will help make it happen.