Domestic Violence Awareness Month is backdrop for new recommendations on closing lethal loopholes in Virginia law
Richmond, VA—Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe, Attorney General Mark Herring, and survivors of gun-related domestic abuse will speak tomorrow at a press conference announcing the release of a new report from the Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence (Ed Fund). The report, titled, “Virginia’s Lethal Loopholes: Policy Solutions to Domestic Homicides Committed with Firearms,” provides a comprehensive look at the linkage between firearms and domestic violence in the Commonwealth.
In 2014, more than half of all family and intimate partner homicides in Virginia were committed with firearms. Despite this, Virginia’s legislators have done next to nothing to prevent gun-related tragedies in the home. It is still far too easy for domestic abusers to purchase and possess firearms, often legally.
The Ed Fund’s new report highlights the most recent data on gun-related domestic violence and recommends legislative changes that would prohibit domestic violence misdemeanants and those subject to a protective order from possessing firearms. It also highlights real stories about Virginia families that were destroyed by serial abusers who bought their guns, and kept them, under Virginia law.
What: Release of new report from the Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence, “Virginia’s Lethal Loopholes: Policy Solutions to Domestic Homicides Committed with Firearms”
When: Wednesday September 30, 2015 12:15 PM
Where: Virginia Capitol Building, Senate Room 3, 1000 Bank Street, Richmond, Virginia
Who: Speakers at the press conference will include:
- Governor Terry McAuliffe
- Attorney General Mark Herring
- Kristine Hall, Public Policy Director, Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Alliance
- Barbara Griffin Harrington, sister of Kristin Palmer, who was murdered in an act of gun-related domestic violence
- Sonja J. Holt, Founder, Second Chance At Renewing Self, LLC (S.C.A.R.S)
- Lori Haas, Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence
The Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence (Ed Fund) is the 501(c)(3) sister organization of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence. The organization has engaged in a number of successful public education campaigns over the years aimed at reducing gun death and injury. The Ed Fund can be found on Twitter.
