People who are convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic abuse or subject to a qualifying protective order aren’t allowed to have firearms according to federal law, but actually separating them from their guns is another matter. Often, abusers can deny having or refuse to surrender their firearms, and in states that have not passed their own versions of the federal ban — which, among other limitations, does not itself mandate how or when subjects should relinquish guns they already have in their possession — the process can be even more precarious.
Dr. April Zeoli shared insights into how different state extreme risk protection or domestic violence restraining order laws can impact firearm-related violence significantly.