四虎影院

Maury Danielle says her ex regularly threatened her with gun violence during their marriage 鈥� a common experience for survivors of domestic abuse.

鈥淚t was always the intimidation of weapons and the deep desire for them,鈥� Danielle said.

Danielle says she would come home from church and find him looking at guns on his computer. That, she says, was one of the many ways her abuser would assert power and control. She later founded a nonprofit, , to advocate for survivors of domestic violence like herself.

Firearms make domestic violence situations deadlier. The presence of a gun in a domestic violence situation increases a woman鈥檚 risk of being killed by as much as 500% according to the Texas Council on Family Violence.

bans domestic abusers that are subject to protective orders from having guns. The Supreme Court upheld the law last year in its 8-1 ruling on , a case that originated in North Texas. But domestic violence advocates say the lack of enforcement of the firearm prohibition in Texas that played a part in Rahimi鈥檚 case hasn鈥檛 changed 鈥� and that could be fatal for victims.

Texas has a similar to the federal statute. So does . But unlike Texas, California has a that requires people under protective orders to prove to the court that they鈥檝e relinquished their firearms 鈥� something advocates say makes a difference. Texas doesn鈥檛 have a statewide system in place to collect and store those weapons while the protective order is in effect.

California has about 39 million residents 鈥� significantly more than the 31.3 million people who live in Texas. But a 四虎影院 analysis of documented 44 confirmed intimate partner homicides in California that were committed with a firearm in 2023, according to the state's department of justice. Texas had 142 that same year according to from the Texas Council on Family Violence.

In 2022, the 四虎影院 analysis found that California had 48 intimate partner gun killings. That's compared to 153 in Texas according to data from the Texas Council on Family Violence for that same year.

The Texas Council on Family Violence reports that at least 18 perpetrators in 2022 and 20 in 2023 were already legally prohibited from possessing a firearm. And those numbers are likely an underestimation due to a lack of accessible data according to the organization鈥檚 .

California also has a lower overall firearm mortality rate than Texas. California had 3,484 firearm deaths in 2022 according to the . Texas had 4,630.

California and Texas follow a similar process for domestic violence protective orders. But people that are subject to protective orders have 48 hours after being served with the restraining order to prove to the court that they sold their firearms and ammunition to a licensed gun dealer or stored them with law enforcement or a licensed gun dealer. Otherwise, they could be arrested for violating the restraining order.

The same isn鈥檛 true in Texas. Molly Voyles, the public policy director at the Texas Council on Family Violence, said the lack of follow-up can be frustrating.

鈥淭he survivor knows they're prohibited, but they don't truly have the weight off of them ,鈥� Voyles said.

The law requiring people under protective orders to give up their firearms has existed in California for decades. And the state passed an in Oct. 2021 that required courts to review the proof of compliance file and alert law enforcement and prosecutors if the person didn鈥檛 comply. It also required local courts to provide people with information about how and where to relinquish their firearms.

The law went into effect in Jan. 2022. Julia Weber, an attorney and social worker based in California, worked on the statute. She said the additional follow-up was necessary.

鈥淲e鈥檙e seeing a huge uptick in compliance,鈥� Weber said.

Violating the federal law that bars abusers from having firearms while under a protective order is a felony. Weber said the potential punishment is a deterrent. Convicted felons have a from having guns in California. In Texas, convicted felons may be able to have a gun in their home five years after completing their sentence.

Maury, who lives in Texas but moved to California while married to her abuser, said she felt safer in California because of the state鈥檚 laws.

"California did a much better job of protecting me,鈥� she said.

The Supreme Court ruled that the federal law in the Rahimi case doesn鈥檛 violate the Second Amendment.

鈥淲hen an individual has been found by a court to pose a credible threat to the physical safety of another, that individual may be temporarily disarmed consistent with the Second Amendment,鈥� the court said.

Zackey Rahimi鈥檚 case made its way to the Supreme Court from Arlington after Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the domestic violence law violated his Second Amendment rights. The Fifth Circuit based its ruling on the Supreme Court鈥檚 decision in N.Y. , which laid out a framework for determining the constitutionality of gun laws that requires modern gun regulations to have a historic analogue.

Rahimi鈥檚 girlfriend got a protective order in Tarrant County in Feb. 2020 after he allegedly knocked her to the ground and slammed her head into a car dashboard during an argument. But while the protective order was in effect, police say Rahimi 鈥� who they described as a drug dealer 鈥� allegedly shot into the air after his friend鈥檚 credit card was declined at a Whataburger. He also was accused of shooting at another driver after a car accident, and three other incidents in which he fired a gun.

Police investigating the shootings found a copy of the protective order and several firearms when they executed a search warrant at Rahimi鈥檚 home.

Weber said cases like Rahimi鈥檚 are why California added additional steps for accountability regarding firearms prohibitions for protective orders.

鈥淲e believe in California is that as close to the time of prohibition as possible, we need to make sure that order is fully implemented,鈥� she said.

Voyles said the lack of accountability can be frustrating for survivors of domestic violence in Texas. She said close to 70% of survivors whose abuser owned a firearm have faced death threats.

鈥淲e have a law that we use to stop it, but we鈥檙e not going to enforce it,鈥� Voyles said.

Danielle said her ex-husband was banned from having guns before she was issued a protective order against him because of a previous charge. But she said a relative of his reached out to warn her that hasn鈥檛 stopped him.

鈥淗e told the relative he now has a gun, and he is looking to use it,鈥� Danielle said.

Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives last year over the Biden administration鈥檚 attempt to close the gun show loophole. The Justice Department announced a new rule that requires anyone who sells guns 鈥� not just gun store owners 鈥� to run federal background checks and be licensed to sell firearms.

A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction in May that prevented the rule from being enforced in Texas. Another federal judge in Kansas declined to block the same rule

The judge, Matthew Kacsmaryk, also attempted to block the use of the abortion pill mifepristone. The that the anti-abortion groups lacked the legal standing to sue the U.S. Food and Drug and Administration to rescind the drug鈥檚 approval. Paxton has since against a New York doctor who prescribed abortion drugs, including mifepristone, to a North Texas woman via telehealth.

Texas is known for being pro-gun. State legislators have loosened gun restrictions, passing a in 2021 that allowed most people age 21 or older to carry a handgun in a public place without a license. And a bill that would鈥檝e raised the age to purchase semi-automatic rifles in Texas from 18 to 21 during the last legislative session after missing a key deadline.

Kathryn Jacob is the CEO of SafeHaven, the Family Violence Center for Tarrant County, where the Rahimi case originated. Jacob said she supports the Second Amendment and that taking firearms away from someone like Rahimi shouldn鈥檛 be seen as going against gun rights.

"A gun in his hands is different than a gun in my hands,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 was not named the subject of a protective order. I'm not a known abuser.鈥�

Attempts to pass a law to ensure that domestic abusers under a protective order relinquish their firearms have failed in the Texas legislature. The few existing firearm transfer programs in the state are often tied to a particular court or judge because there鈥檚 not an established statewide procedure. And programs can die or diminish if the judge who started them isn鈥檛 reelected.

Danielle said safety is something she does for herself.

鈥淚 realized no one can keep me safe but me, and so it鈥檚 an everyday decision to be free,鈥� she said.

Danielle said she moved to Texas from California to be closer to family so she could gain stability after escaping the abuse. But she said she doesn鈥檛 want to stay in the state. Danielle said the looser gun laws in Texas make her feel less safe.

Weber said the federal government should take action in states like Texas that aren鈥檛 enforcing the federal law that bans abusers under protective orders from having guns. She said it would prevent unnecessary violence, like the five shooting incidents that led to Rahimi鈥檚 arrest in Arlington.

鈥淲e鈥檝e had this problem in other areas, in civil rights and other areas where the state is not enforcing federal law, and the federal government has stepped in,鈥� Weber said.

Voyles said leaving firearms in the hands of known abusers could be deadly for survivors of domestic violence.

鈥淭hey are survivors today,鈥� she said. 鈥淚f we do not act, it could be a fatality tomorrow.鈥�

 
Got a tip? Email Caroline Love at clove@kera.org.

Caroline Love is a corps member for 四虎影院.

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