Senator fights for domestic violence survivors
Blumenthal seeks federal law to protect them by closing loopholes that allow abusers to legally obtain weapons
Kacey Mason wiped tears from her eyes as she sat before members of Congress in Washington on Wednesday and told them that a proposed law — one named for her sister — would have likely saved her sister’s life.
The Lori Jackson-nicolette Elias Domestic Violence Survivor Protection Act, said Mason, “would have added another layer of safety” for her 32-year-old sister, Lori Jackson, who was shot while taking refuge at their parent’s house in Oxford in 2014 with her young twins. She was killed by her husband, whom she had recently left, despite having a temporary restraining order against him.
Jackson’s murder prompted Sen. Richard Blumenthal to introduce a federal law that would prevent people under temporary restraining orders from purchasing firearms, closing what he called a “dangerous loophole” that allows court-documented abusers to maintain access to guns.
In the weeks before her murder, Jackson had taken all possible measures to protect herself, her family said. She had filed for two temporary restraining orders and was one day away from a hearing for a permanent one. Despite her efforts, there was no law in place that prevented her abuser, Scott Gellatly, from keeping the guns he
already owned and driving to Virginia to purchase another.
On May 7, 2014, he shot Jackson four times in her head and torso before turning the gun on her mother, Merry Jackson — who was also in Washington on Wednesday — injuring her, too.
Roberta Valente, a Policy Consultant for the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, said that Jackson was killed during a window of time when victims of domestic violence are at the highest risk — right after they reach out for help, like when they call police or file for a protective order.
Blumenthal, who chaired the “Stop Gun Violence: The Jackson-elias Domestic Violence Survivor Protection Act” hearing on Wednesday, said the law would help protect victims during the same timeframe in which Jackson was killed.
“That is the moment of highest rage and lowest protection,” he said.
Mason, who saw firsthand the fear her sister felt as she tried to keep herself safe during that time, said “those weeks are an unstable time when another layer of protection could be beneficial and save lives.”
Each year in the United States, an average of 600 women are shot to death by intimate partners, senators on the subcommittee said Wednesday. And the mere presence of a gun in a home where domestic violence is an issue increases the risk of murder by fivefold, said Blumenthal.
Domestic abusers regularly use firearms as a tool for violence and control, said Valente, who told the subcommittee that 60% of intimate partner homicides of women involve a firearm. The risk of violence involving a gun is typically the most extreme when abuse is reported to law enforcement or when a victim files for protection in the courts, she said.
In Connecticut, more than 37% of women and 33% of men will experience physical or sexual violence or stalking by an intimate partner at some point in their lives, according to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Nationwide, rates of domestic violence and intimate partner homicides have skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This law, said Valente, “would make significant progress in reducing firearms fatalities in domestic violence cases” by filling significant gaps, like a lack of protection for people who experience violence by people who haven’t married, lived with or had kids with their abusers — or the so-called “stalking loophole” which lets dating partners with misdemeanor domestic violence convictions and those with misdemeanor stalking convictions buy guns.
Holly Sullivan, president of the Connecticut Citizens Defense League was also in Washington Wednesday. She argued that Gellatly was not abiding by the law, so this law would not have helped save Jackson’s life. Valente said that based on years of research and expertise, she feels confident that it would have, and that research has shown a reduction in homicide rates in states that have passed similar laws at a local level.
Sullivan also told the subcommittee she worries the law would take weapons of defense out of the hands of women who wish to protect themselves, a concern ranking member Sen. Ted Cruz shared.
Cruz said that disarming people in situations where they are at risk of being harmed would increase the possibility of violence or homicide.
Blumenthal asked Valente if she noticed any language in the bill that would prevent domestic violence victims from arming themselves if they wished to do so. Valente said no, but added that she and her colleagues in domestic violence prevention encourage domestic violence victims not to possess firearms.
Studies show that having a gun in the house at all increases the likelihood of an intimate partner homicide because the abuser is likely to gain control of the weapon, said Valente.
Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon said taking guns away from people who use them properly was not their objective.
“What our bill is talking about is not taking gun rights from law-abiding citizens, its about closing a dangerous loophole that has put at risk American families,” he said.
Wyden told the story of the law’s other namesake, Nicolette Elias.
Elias, he said, was a protective mom of two young daughters who was shot to death in front of her children by her ex-husband. At the time of her death, she had an emergency protective restraining order.
Wyden said that Elias “did everything possible to protect herself and her daughters” by reporting her ex-husband’s threats, abuse and gun ownership and worked out emergency safety plans with friends and neighbors. Yet, despite the restraining order, there was no legal requirement to prohibit his access to guns and Elias was the victim of “a monumental tragedy.”
She was shot seven times in southwest Portland by her ex-husband, who then took his own life.
“Nobody should have to endure what Nicolette’s family has endured,” said Wyden, adding that too many families, too many people around the U.S. know exactly what that scenario feels like.
Wyden said he thinks Congress has a moral obligation to close the gaps and “should have eliminated the loopholes that leave women in the crosshairs of violent spouses and partners with guns a long time ago.”
The hearing was the fourth in a series Blumenthal, chair of the Senate Judiciary Constitution Subcommittee, is holding to examine constitutional and commonsense efforts to prevent gun violence.
Blumenthal also acknowledged the recent mass shooting in Buffalo and spiking rates of homicide across the nation, calling it a time “of relentless carnage” in the nation. He said he hopes the recent spikes in gun violence will prompt bipartisan action and remind lawmakers to honor the memories of victims like Jackson with action.
While she struggled to compose herself as she told her sister’s story, Mason said that her sister, a shy but silly woman with a contagious laugh and a generous heart, could have survived if the proposed law now named for her had been in place eight years ago.
“The bill named after my sister would have made a difference, it would have saved her life. It’s too late for Lori, but this law can and will make a difference in another family’s story.”