Under current law, these abusers face the same penalty no matter how many convictions they rack up.
"It's based on the science, it's based on public sentiment, and it's reflected in the federal law prohibiting abusers from having guns.
New York state Sen. Brad Hoylman, a Democrat seeking to extend the statute of limitations in the state, said current law protects abusers, particularly those who prey on children who may not address the issue before turning 23, as the law now requires.
Convicted stalkers are also exempt from laws barring abusers from buying and keeping firearms despite the fact that 76percentt of domestic homicide victims are stalked before they are killed.
Yesterday, SNAP said that until the laws could be changed, bishops should agree to "stop hiding behind" statutes of limitations and other laws that protect abusers, open files on abusive priests to prosecutors and lift confidentiality agreements with victims who have reached settlements.
Thanks to current loopholes in federal law, some domestic abusers are still able to obtain guns.
Solicitor General Donald B. Verrilli Jr., in urging the Supreme Court to hear the case, United States v. Castleman, No. 12-1371, said the lower courts' approach "will impede the effective and uniform enforcement" of the federal law, as "domestic abusers are routinely prosecuted under assault and battery statutes" that do not require proof of violent physical contact or bodily injury.
They include: bills to provide background checks on all gun purchases and to require the buyer to pay for the tests; a bill to limit the size of ammunition magazines to 15 rounds; another to force gun owners applying for a concealed carry permit license to undergo physical training; and a new law banning domestic abusers from having guns.
Under federal law, convicted domestic abusers can't buy or possess firearms.
It's up to the states to impose meaningful laws separating domestic abusers from their guns.
