Lori Jackson-Nicolette Elias Domestic Violence Survivor Protection Act

Lori Jackson-Nicolette Elias Domestic Violence Survivor Protection Act

This bill makes changes to the federal statutory framework that prohibits the shipment, transport, receipt, or possession of firearms or ammunition by an individual who is subject to a qualifying domestic violence court order.

Under current law, a qualifying domestic violence court order must meet certain requirements, including to (1) be issued after a hearing of which the individual had notice and an opportunity to participate; and (2) restrain the individual from harassing, stalking, or threatening an intimate partner (i.e., a current or former spouse, a co-parent of a child, or a current or former cohabitant) or the child of an intimate partner.

This bill expands the scope of qualifying domestic violence court orders to include an order that

• is issued after an ex parte hearing (i.e., a hearing with only one party present);
• restrains the individual from harassing, stalking, or threatening a dating partner or former dating partner; or
• restrains the individual from intimidating a witness.

Current law also prohibits an individual who is convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence from shipping, transporting, receiving, or possessing firearms or ammunition. These restrictions generally only apply to spouses, co-parents, and cohabitants, and to offenses that involve physical force or deadly weapons. This bill expands the scope of these restrictions to include dating partners and offenses that involve stalking.

Finally, the bill authorizes grants for state, local, and tribal governments to remove firearms and take other steps after a domestic violence court order is issued.

Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov