Valiant Voices:
Conversations with Human Rights Advocates and Survivors

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Safety in the Crosshairs: Guns, Domestic Violence and Community Safety

Speakers: Ruth Glenn, Survivor Justice Action, Lumarie Orozco, Firearms Technical Assistance Project & Battered Women’s Justice Project, Kate Ranta, Survivor and Activist, Joe Shannon, Violence Free Minnesota
Moderated by: Rhonda Martinson, JD, Gender-Based Violence Consultant

Domestic violence and access to firearms are a lethal combination. Abusers with guns are five times more likely to kill their female victims, and threats with weapons reinforce power and control dynamics in intimate partner relationships. The effects of firearms and domestic violence impact more than individuals and families directly involved. Over half of the mass shootings in the past decade are perpetrated by domestic abusers, raising the stakes for community safety. Pew Center Research has shown 57% of teenagers have elevated anxiety and fear in schools, and one-third of adults are fearful of going to events and retail stores. Domestic violence, so intertwined with gun violence, restricts both the freedom of individuals involved, and creates an atmosphere of fear in community civic life.

To add even more urgency, the U.S. Supreme Court will be hearing the United States v. Rahimi case in early November, to determine whether a person subject to a domestic violence protective order should have a constitutional right to keep their firearms. In this conversation with survivors of domestic violence, professional advocates, and researchers of deadly intimate partner violence will talk about risks to victim-survivors and firearms, the possible impacts of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on the Rahimi case, and how the intersection of guns and domestic violence can be addressed.