The Department of Justice has been in a years-long fight to decrease violent gun crimes. And now, it鈥檚 targeting domestic violence abusers.
Inside the Earle Cabell Federal Building in downtown Dallas, in an office surrounded with wood paneling, sits the . Her name is . And on a cold winter morning in November, just before Thanksgiving, she sat down to talk with Guns & America about an initiative informally dubbed 鈥溾��
鈥淚鈥檒l give just three cases, we have a lot of them, but they represent a misdemeanor, a felony and a protective order,鈥� begins Nealy Cox.
She鈥檚 talking about some of the cases her office has pursued in an effort to decrease violent crime.
Nealy Cox lands on one: An abuser who鈥檚 been charged with possession of a firearm while subject to a domestic violence protective order.
鈥淗e was served with a protective order in 2018 after allegedly holding his girlfriend and her seven-year-old daughter in his garage against their will,鈥� she explains.
That protective order should鈥檝e kept the abuser away from his girlfriend. But it didn鈥檛. Instead, he threatened her with a nine-millimeter Glock.
鈥淪o we prosecuted that case,鈥� says Nealy Cox. 鈥淗e pleaded guilty. And he鈥檚 currently serving 30 months.鈥�
These sorts of domestic violence cases are common. Researchers say abusers regularly violate domestic violence restraining orders and firearms restrictions. But that issuing legal firearms restrictions to an abuser reduces the chances of intimate partner homicide in certain cases.
is a criminal justice professor at Michigan State University. She studies if policies and laws can prevent gun violence.
鈥淲e have found that the misdemeanor crime of 鈥榙omestic violence, firearms restrictions鈥� are associated with reductions of intimate partner homicides,鈥� Zeoli said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 been found in multiple studies.鈥�
But Zeoli鈥檚 research also shows a difference in effectiveness between the state and federal cases.
By comparison, the same charge, 鈥渁t the state level has not been associated with reductions of intimate partner homicide,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut the federal crime has been associated with reductions in intimate partner homicide.鈥�
An Avenue To Decrease Overall Gun Violence
鈥淲ith limited resources, how do we make the biggest impact with our gun crime laws?鈥� Nealy Cox poses. 鈥淭ime and time again, it came down to the nexus between gun crime, violent crime and domestic violence.鈥�
Nealy Cox says she didn鈥檛 start with a mission to take on domestic violence. But when she took over as U.S. Attorney for Northern Texas, violent crime was something that affected both rural and urban communities throughout the district. So she started talking with police chiefs, district attorneys and state judges. This is what she heard:
鈥淚 can tell you that we absolutely see a connection between domestic violence and other crime,鈥� said Arlington, Texas, Police Chief Will Johnson. 鈥淲e also see a clear nexus between the illicit drug trade and other crimes. When you overlap both of those large issues together, you see substance abusers who commit domestic violence and other weapon offenses.鈥�
April Zeoli鈥檚 research confirms Johnson鈥檚 and Nealy Cox鈥檚 conclusion that domestic violence abusers have and will break other laws, too.
鈥淭hose who commit severe domestic violence are highly likely to commit other violent crimes as well,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 can tell you that of people who鈥檝e committed intimate partner homicide, quite a lot of them have violent pasts.鈥�
Johnson says these offenders create chaos in our communities.
鈥淭his violence is real,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd being able to address it systematically has to be a priority for communities as they start to try to prevent these acts of violence from occurring.鈥�
Recently, Zeoli took a look at the of 73 mass shooters. She was looking for a connection between mass shootings and intimate partner violence. And one-third of the abusers in her study were known abusers. Seventeen of them went on to murder people in public.
鈥淭here were missed opportunities to put firearms restrictions on them,鈥� she said. 鈥滱nd if they did have firearms restrictions 鈥� because some of them did 鈥� we failed to actually implement those restrictions in a way that would鈥檝e kept them from accessing firearms.鈥�
Why The Results Differ At The State And Federal Level
The U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas says there are fewer obstacles when her office files charges compared to her counterparts at the state-level.
鈥淭o a certain extent, our domestic violence cases are easier than our state partners鈥�,鈥� said Nealy Cox. 鈥淲e do not have to rely on the victim.鈥�
Possessing a gun after being charged with a misdemeanor, a felony or a protective order for domestic violence is illegal. So Nealy Cox says, 鈥渁ll we have to have are conviction documents and possession of a gun,鈥� to put an abuser behind bars.
鈥淭ypically, in the federal system, you have to have a prior felony conviction to be eligible for our federal gun crime laws,鈥� she explains. 鈥淏ut specifically in the space of domestic violence, if you have a prior misdemeanor conviction for domestic violence and then possess a gun, you can be convicted federally.鈥�
Essentially, the DOJ鈥檚 process for getting abusers off the street is quicker than many states鈥�. By charging an individual with breaking a federal gun law, not state a domestic violence law, Nealy Cox and her partners are able to get abusers off the streets faster.
Arlington Police Chief Will Johnson admits that due process at the state level takes time. And it can give abusers a chance to cause more harm.
鈥淭he opportunity to re-offend while out on bond can be very problematic for us,鈥� said Johnson. 鈥淪o as we look at the U.S Attorney鈥檚 role, sometimes, because of the level of these crimes, we can get the offender to remain in custody until the trial. Which absolutely helps us keep repeat offenders from committing harm in the community.鈥�
Researcher April Zeoli says there are lots of reasons an abuser might not be issued a firearm restriction. Many prosecutors within local governments, she says, don鈥檛 have the tools they need to keep victims safe.
鈥淔or example, not all relationships that most people would consider intimate partner relationships qualify for the misdemeanor crime of domestic violence firearms restriction,鈥� she said. 鈥淵ou have to be a current or former spouse. You have to have a child together. Or you have to currently live with the abuser. But dating partners are not included.鈥�
Folks can date for years, and as long as they never live together, the firearm restriction can not be used against an abuser, even if he or she has a history of domestic violence convictions on their record.
鈥淭o many people, including myself, that doesn鈥檛 make sense if our goal is to reduce intimate partner violence as part of overall gun violence reduction,鈥� Zeoli said. 鈥淒ating partners can and do use guns in intimate partner violence. Right now, just under half of intimate partner homicides are being committed by dating partners.鈥�
A from the University of Pennsylvania found that as many as 鈥�80% of incidents in one study population鈥� involve boyfriends and girlfriends.
The Issue Goes Beyond Law Enforcement
鈥淚t鈥檚 not a male or female thing. It鈥檚 really not,鈥� Nealy Cox said urgently. 鈥淚t is a community-wide issue. And men and women and all of us, we need to step up. And we need to figure out a way to do something about it.鈥�
This initiative makes some advocates for domestic violence victims ecstatic. Jan Langbein is the CEO and founder of Genesis Women鈥檚 Shelter in Dallas. To end the violence, she said, 鈥渋t takes a village.鈥�
鈥淭he word is going to get out that if you鈥檝e committed domestic violence, you shouldn鈥檛 have a gun,鈥� said Langbein.
Langbein has worked with battered women for nearly 30 years. She鈥檚 had clients who were gunned down. And she understands better than most that there are limitations within the legal system.
鈥淲e can shelter. But that鈥檚 not good enough if there鈥檚 no arrest,鈥� said Langbein.鈥淎nd the arrest isn鈥檛 good enough if there aren鈥檛 prosecutors prosecuting or judges hearing these cases.鈥�
That鈥檚 why Langbein and Genesis Women鈥檚 Shelter have partnered with Nealy Cox. She says that throughout her years working with women, they鈥檝e been scared of retaliation.
鈥淚f they told,鈥� she said, 鈥渢he abuser probably spends four days in jail. Then he鈥檚 bailed out. And now, she鈥檚 home unprotected and here comes this guy with a gun.鈥�
But now, Langbein says, resource providers can tell the abused: 鈥淔ederal prison is no joke. This is not an open door. And they will not be released very quickly.鈥�
Nealy Cox says it鈥檚 a chance for a fresh start. And she encourages neighbors, friends and others to start speaking up too.
is a public media reporting project on the role of guns in American life.
