I am Supriya Gill, a lawyer and in this article, you will get to know about all the concepts of the boyfriend loophole, its historical background, implications and the efforts to close this blatant gap in the law.
In every society across the globe, domestic violence has a devastating impact on families and individuals, and there is persistent concern to curb it and fight against it. There are different legislations in different parts of the World to curb this social evil. In the United States, the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) was passed in 1994 as an effort to address this issue.
Although VAWA has been proven to bring enormous positive changes in the prevention of domestic violence and providing support to the victims there is a blatant gap called as ‘Boyfriend loophole’ that persists within its provisions.
The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) is a federal law which was first passed in 1994 and it provides funding and resources for programs that help victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking. A bill to reauthorize VAWA was passed in 2022 by the House of Representatives that would close the boyfriend loophole but it has not been passed yet.
What is the Boyfriend Loophole in VAWA?
One of the significant provisions of the Violence Against Women Act(VAWA) is to prohibit individuals convicted of domestic violence from purchasing or owning a gun/firearm. However, this prohibition has a limited scope, it only applies to specific individuals. This is called the boyfriend loophole.
The boyfriend loophole in VAWA is a blatant gap in American gun legislation that allows individuals who have been convicted of domestic violence against their partners to purchase guns or firearms.
As per the provisions of VAWA, it imposes firearm restrictions on individuals who have been convicted of domestic violence offences and were the spouse of the victim cohabited with the victim or had a child with the victim. However, the convicted can still legally buy a gun if he did not have a child with the victim or has not cohabited with the victim.
This means that any person who is convicted of domestic violence against a dating partner or under a restraining order but does not cohabit with the victim or had no child with the victim, can still legally own a gun. This blatant loophole became a severe threat to the victims of domestic violence as it allowed their abusers to legally own a firearm.
The House of Representatives in 2022 passed a bill to reauthorise VAWA and this would close the boyfriend loophole. But the bill is yet to be passed by the Senate. There is growing momentum to close the loophole and protect victims of domestic violence as closing this loophole would help in protecting the victims of domestic violence by refraining the domestic violence abusers from owning guns.
History of the boyfriend loophole and how it come to be included in VAWA?
The boyfriend loophole came into force in 1996 after the Lautenberg Amendment was incorporated 1996 into the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act. The provisions of the Lautenberg Amendment restrict the people convicted of domestic violence from owning guns or firearms, but this provision was limited in nature as it prohibits only those convicts who were married to, cohibited with or had a child with the victim.
The reason behind the boyfriend loophole was a rationale put forth by the National Rifle Association which argued that the Lautenberg Amendment should not be applied to individuals who are not legally married to the victim. The NRA’s argument did not consider the seriousness of domestic violence whether the victim is married to the abuser
The boyfriend loophole was strongly criticized by many domestic violence advocates. Persistent efforts are made to close this blatant loophole. In 2022, a bill was introduced to reauthorise the VAWA which has the provision to close the boyfriend loophole. But it is yet to be passed by the Senate.
Impact of the Boyfriend loophole on the victims of Domestic violence
The boyfriend loophole has a serious effect on the victims of domestic violence as it allows their abusive partners to own a gun/firearm and possibly harm them.
Some statistical facts based on the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV):
- The risk of homicide is increased by 500% just with the presence of a gun.
- In domestic violence, there are 19% of instances which involve a weapon.
- A survey of contacts by the National Domestic Violence Hotline found that 10% of the victims admitted that their abusers had fired a gun during an argument.
- The majority of homicides of intimate partners are committed with guns/firearms.
- From 2010-2017, the instances of intimate partner homicides with guns/firearms increased by 26%.
The boyfriend loophole in VAWA leaves a number of domestic violence victims vulnerable to their abuser’s access to firearms/guns. Research by the Violence Policy Center highlighted a connection between guns and intimate partner violence. It’s found that the women who are killed by their abusive partners, there are five times more chances that they are killed by guns than any other weapon.
Legislative Efforts to Close the Boyfriend Loophole
Some strong legislative efforts have been made to close the boyfriend loophole which ensures that all persons convicted of domestic violence are subjected same guns/firearms restrictions that are there for abused spouses, cohabitants or with whom they had a child.
A bill was passed in 2019 by the House of Representatives to close the boyfriend loophole called as the Closing the Loophole to Keep Women Safe Act. But this bill failed to come into existence as it was not passed by the Senate. If the bill was passed it would have prohibited all domestic violence convicts from owning a gun/firearm.
After that, a bill to reauthorise the VAWA was passed by the House of Representatives in 2022. There was a provision in the bill to close this blatant loophole. The bill is yet to be passed by the Senate.
The debate over this loophole is likely to continue but there is evident momentum to close the loophole and protect the victims of domestic violence.
The NRA’s Role and Opposition in closing the boyfriend loophole
In the debates surrounding the boyfriend loophole, the National Rifle Association has a prominent voice. Although the NRA has advocated for certain gun control measures, it supported the boyfriend loophole. It considers it to be necessary to protect the rights of law-abiding gun owners. NRA clearly shows its criticism in closing the boyfriend loophole.
Closing Thoughts
The boyfriend loophole in VAWA is a blatant gap that has become an alarming threat to the victims of domestic violence. As there are constant legislative efforts and persistent criticism from various organisations, there is hope that this loophole will be completely closed.
Sources
- Boyfriend loophole. (2023, August 12). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boyfriend_loophole
- https://ncadv.org/STATISTICS
- https://assets.speakcdn.com/assets/2497/guns_and_dv_2022.pdf
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