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Prohibit People With Dangerous Histories From Having Guns

    Prohibit People With Dangerous Histories From Having Guns

      What does this solve?

      People with dangerous histories should be prohibited from having guns. Federal law prohibits gun possession by certain categories of people. States also set standards for who is too dangerous to have guns. People prohibited by federal or state law will fail a background check if they try to buy a gun from a licensed dealer.

      Federal law prohibits certain categories of people from having guns,118 U.S.C. § 922(g) including:

      • Convicted felons.
      • Abusers under final domestic violence restraining orders, if they have been married to, lived with, or have a child in common with the victim.2A person who is “subject to a court order that restrains such person from harassing, stalking, or threatening an intimate partner of such person or child of such intimate partner or person, or engaging in other conduct that would place an intimate partner in reasonable fear of bodily injury to the partner or child” (18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(8)(B)). Intimate partner is defined as “the spouse of the person, a former spouse of the person, an individual who is a parent of a child of the person, and an individual who cohabitates or has cohabited with the person” (18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(32)).
      • Abusers convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence crimes.3Prior to passage of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA), the misdemeanor crime of domestic violence prohibitor applied only to “any current or former spouse, parent, or guardian of the victim; a person with whom the victim shares a child in common; a person who is cohabiting with, or has cohabited with, the victim as a spouse, parent, or guardian; or a person similarly situated to a spouse, parent, or guardian of the victim.” BSCA expanded the prohibition to individuals who have or had a dating relationship with the victim. The law defines “dating relationship” to mean “a relationship between individuals who have or have recently had a continuing serious relationship of a romantic or intimate nature” and provides factors to determine whether such a relationship exists, including the length of the relationship, the nature of the relationship, and the frequency and type of interaction between the individuals involved in the relationship (18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(37)).
      • People with dangerous mental illness.4A person who has “been adjudicated as a mental defective or has been committed to any mental institution at 16 years of age or older” (18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(4)).
      • Fugitives from justice.
      • Unlawful drug users.

      While federal law applies in every state, without matching provisions in state law, in-state officials generally cannot enforce them. States can also fill gaps left by federal law and set even stronger standards.

      How it Works

      Federal and state laws should block people with dangerous histories from having guns.

      Federal law should be amended to fill dangerous gaps in the law that enable people with dangerous histories to have guns. States should also pass laws matching the federal prohibitions, and should fill gaps left by federal law.

      • Abusive dating partners. Federal law prohibits domestic abusers under restraining orders from having guns only if the abuser has been married to, has lived with, or has a child in common with the victim1A person who is “subject to a court order that restrains such person from harassing, stalking, or threatening an intimate partner of such person or child of such intimate partner or person, or engaging in other conduct that would place an intimate partner in reasonable fear of bodily injury to the partner or child” (18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(8)(B)). Intimate partner is defined as “the spouse of the person, a former spouse of the person, an individual who is a parent of a child of the person, and an individual who cohabitates or has cohabited with the person” (18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(32)).—it does not cover abusive dating partners. The exclusion of abusive dating partners from the firearm prohibition is especially outdated given the changing nature of relationships2Couples are delaying marriage, and the median age of first marriage for women has increased from 22 in 1990 to 28 in 2018. US Census Bureau, “Estimated Median Age of First Marriage by Sex: 1890 to the Present (table),” November 2018, https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/families/marital.html. and the fact that women are now as likely to be killed by dating partners as by spouses.3Alexia Cooper and Erica L. Smith, “Homicide Trends in the United States, 1980–2008,” US Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics, November 2011, https://bjs.ojp.gov/content/pub/pdf/htus8008.pdf.
      • People under extreme risk protection orders.
      • Convicted stalkers. Federal law prohibits people convicted of felony stalking from having guns, but not people convicted of misdemeanor stalking crimes.
      • People convicted of hate crimes.
      • People with mental illness that pose a risk to themselves or others. Federal law and state law should clarify that the prohibition extends to people involuntarily committed to outpatient treatment. Federal law should also clarify that certain records held by Veterans Affairs and Social Security Administration qualify as federally prohibiting mental health records.
      • People under 21 should not be able to buy a gun. Laws may provide exceptions for 18- to 20-year-olds purchasing certain types of long guns in limited circumstances.
      • People recently convicted of a violent misdemeanor. Federal law prohibits people convicted of a felony or a domestic violence misdemeanor from having guns, but does not otherwise block people recently convicted of a violent crime. 
      • People under emergency domestic violence restraining orders. While federal law prohibits abusers under domestic violence restraining orders while a long-term order is in place, it does not prohibit those during the earlier, emergency order phase. While people under these emergency orders must have ready access to the courts, they should be prohibited from having guns during this highly dangerous period.
      • People with outstanding warrants. People under outstanding warrants should be blocked from buying a gun, and from having a gun if they know about the warrant.
      • Other people who pose a risk to public safety. Several states screen for any dangerous history among gun permit applicants. These are important protections that ensure new gun buyers do not pose a serious danger to themselves or others.

      By the numbers

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      Did you know?

      Each year, on average, at least one in nine prohibited gun purchasers denied by a background check are denied due to prohibiting domestic violence histories.

      Everytown Research analysis of Connor Brooks, “Background Checks for Firearm Transfers, 2019–2020,” US Bureau of Justice Statistics, November 2023, https://bjs.ojp.gov/document/bcft1920.pdf, and data obtained by FBI FOIA requests, 2021–2023. Though the majority of the transactions and denials reported by the FBI and BJS are associated with a firearm sale or transfer, a small number may be for concealed-carry permits and other reasons not related to a sale or transfer. Totals include both those who are prohibited due to a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence conviction and those who are denied due to restraining or protection orders for domestic violence.

      Last updated: 5.27.2025