Democratic Women’s Caucus Slams Trump Admin’s Rollback of Resources and Protections for Domestic Violence Survivors

WASHINGTON, D.C. — DWC Senate Liaison Debbie Dingell (MI-06) and DWC Member Gwen Moore (WI-04) led 34 Democratic Women’s Caucus (DWC) members in criticizing the Trump administration’s constant attacks on survivors of domestic violence through their gun policies in a letter to Attorney General Pamela Bondi. Since day one, the administration has rolled back the resources and protections that keep survivors of domestic violence, sexual violence, harassment, dating violence, and stalking safe, including gun regulations designed to protect survivors and women.

Considering the safety of survivors is critical when developing policy relating to gun violence. And it’s legally required via the bipartisan Violence Against Women Act, the Members explain in their letter:

“The idea that individuals found to be dangerous by a court of law should not have access to a firearm is not partisan or novel. Since its passage in 1994, the Violence Against Women Act made a promise to survivors that their abusers, who were subject to domestic violence protection orders, could not access guns. This has remained a bipartisan ideal, upheld most recently in the Supreme Court case United States v. Rahimi, in which a conservative majority upheld a federal ban on the possession of a gun by someone who has been the subject of a domestic violence restraining order.”

In their letter, the Members also call out several of the administration’s specific attacks on survivor resources and protections:

• President Trump signed an Executive Order instructing the Attorney General to reexamine “all orders, regulations, guidance, plans, international agreements, and other actions of executive departments and agencies” to determine if they violate the Second Amendment. Despite non-partisan healthcare experts agreeing that gun violence poses a public health crisis, the Administration arbitrarily chose to roll back this call for necessary measures like background checks, secure storage, investment in community violence intervention, and increased oversight of the gun industry, all of which would make immense progress to protect millions of women who have experienced gun violence or threats to gun violence at the hands of an abusive partner.
• The Department of Justice (DOJ) published an interim rule that would allow the U.S Attorney General or another DOJ official to restore the gun rights of individuals with criminal convictions. It was reported that the DOJ is working to determine how many years need to elapse for domestic abusers to regain access to guns.
• President Trump endorsed H.R. 38, the Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act. This bill would require all U.S. states to recognize concealed carry permits granted by the home state of the individual, regardless of their own standards and requirements.

The Members also asked for a swift response from Attorney General Bondi to hear how the administration intends to center survivors:

“We request that you cease efforts to roll back existing protections against gun violence and ensure that any future changes are evidence-based and consider the unique needs of survivors. We request a swift response to outline 1) the potential changes the Administration is considering as a result of its February EO 2) how the Administration intends to put the safety of survivors at the forefront of any policy related to firearm regulation, and 3) what resources the Administration intends to provide to staff at agencies who specifically support survivors to ensure that they are able to continue doing their essential work.”

The full letter can be accessed here.

In addition to letter leads Debbie Dingell and Gwen Moore, the letter was signed by Yassamin Ansari, Nanette Barragán, Joyce Beatty, Suzanne Bonamici, Julia Brownley, Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, Teresa Leger Fernández, Maxine Dexter, Sarah Elfreth, Lois Frankel, Sylvia Garcia, Sydney Kamlager-Dove, Robin Kelly, Sarah McBride, Jennifer McClellan, Betty McCollum, LaMonica McIver, Eleanor Norton, Delia Ramirez, Deborah Ross, Andrea Salinas, Mary Gay Scanlon, Janice Schakowsky, Mikie Sherrill, Melanie Stansbury, Haley Stevens, Jill Tokuda, Norma Torres, Nydia Velázquez, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Bonnie Watson Coleman, Nikema Williams, Frederica Wilson, and Kristen McDonald Rivet.