IPGV Takes Aim at Iowa Courts for Failing to Uphold Federal Law That Prohibits Domestic Abusers from Possessing Firearms

30 June 2006

Iowa district courts are failing to enforce federal law that prohibits a person who is subject to a court restraining order for domestic violence from possessing firearms, according to a report released today by Iowans for the Prevention of Gun Violence (IPGV) - Arming Domestic Abusers: Failure of Iowa Courts to Uphold Federal Law That Prohibits Possession of Firearms to Domestic Abusers.

Of approximately 2,500 qualifying protective orders issued in 2005, an estimated 1,800 protective orders (72 percent) failed to prohibit the defendant from possessing firearms and require the defendant to surrender his/her firearms to a designated law enforcement agency. It is estimated that about 1,000 of the defendants named in these protective orders possessed firearms at the time the protective order was issued.

The Violence Against Women Act, enacted by Congress in 1994, amended The Gun Control Act of 1968 to prohibit persons who are subject to a court restraining order for domestic violence meeting certain conditions from possessing firearms or ammunition.

"Iowa district court judges are bound by their oath of office to 'administer justice according to law,'" said John Johnson, director of IPGV. "The federal law was enacted by Congress to promote public safety and prevent death and injury in domestic abuse cases. Removal of firearms from persons subject to a court restraining order for domestic violence is not discretionary. It's the law."

In its study, IPGV examined domestic abuse protective orders issued in 2005 in each of Iowa's eight judicial districts (a total of 10 counties). The sample included about one-half of all qualifying protective orders issued in 2005 and protective orders issued by about three-fourths of current district court judges.

The study revealed that only 28 percent of qualifying protective orders issued by Iowa district courts in 2005 prohibited the defendant from possessing firearms.

The report details results by judicial district and individual district court judge. The judicial districts with the lowest compliance were the Fourth (1 percent) and Seventh (8 percent). The judicial districts with the highest compliance were the Fifth (44 percent) and Second (43 percent).

Compliance with the federal law was strongly dependent on the individual district court judge that issued the order. Some judges routinely prohibited the defendant from possessing firearms on all or most of their orders. Other judges seldom or never prohibited the defendant from possessing firearms. The study found that about 25 percent of the judges were responsible for about 75 percent of the protective orders that prohibited the defendant from possessing firearms.

Leah Woodward, IPGV's assistant director said, "The United States is a nation of laws. The question is, is Iowa being governed by the 'rule of law' or the 'rule of individual judge?'"

Nationwide, there are approximately 1,600 intimate partner homicides each year. About 75 percent of the victims are women. A firearm is used in about two-thirds of intimate partner homicides.

Between January 1, 1995 through September 18, 2003, 108 Iowans were killed in domestic homicides, an average of about 12 a year. The victims included 68 women and 12 men who were killed by their current or former partners. In addition, 28 bystanders (12 adults and 16 children) were also killed in these domestic homicides. One hundred six children survived these murdered women and men.

A copy of the report may be downloaded from http://www.ipgv.org

"History's biggest tragedy is not the violent acts of bad people, but the appalling silence and indifference of good people." -Martin Luther King, Jr.

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