Bipartisan language in the newly introduced Senate version of the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2022 would give expanded powers to state and local prosecutors to pursue domestic abusers who possess firearms illegally.
The pandemic has been an especially lethal period for abuse victims: Gun homicides involving intimate partners rose a stunning 25% in 2020 compared with the previous year, to the highest level in almost three decades. bit.ly/gunlaws-dv
Federal law bars felons and some people convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence from possessing firearms.
But state and local law enforcement authorities can’t enforce those federal laws, and federal prosecutors haven’t made them a priority. revealnews.org/article/how-th…
That means even egregious cases frequently fall through the cracks.
Many states also forbid convicted abusers from possessing firearms, but their laws can be substantially weaker than the federal statutes. revealnews.org/article/how-th…
And because federal law and most state statutes don’t address how to retrieve weapons from people who aren’t legally permitted to have them, gun bans are largely enforced on an honor system that relies on abusers to disarm themselves. revealnews.org/article/how-th…
The new #VAWA bill, introduced in the Senate, overcomes the jurisdictional roadblocks by allowing the Department of Justice to appoint state, local, territorial and tribal prosecutors to serve as special assistant U.S. attorneys with the power to enforce federal firearms laws.
This could be particularly important in at least 20 states that either don’t bar people convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence from possessing guns or have laws that are weaker than the federal bans. revealnews.org/article/how-th…
The bill would also expand @ATFHQ’s reach by allowing the attorney general to deputize local and state law enforcement officers to act as ATF agents to investigate abusers who violate federal gun laws. revealnews.org/article/how-th…
➡️ Even though guns are used to commit two-thirds of intimate partner homicides, the ATF told Reveal that it doesn’t have a single agent focusing exclusively on domestic violence.
The bill also instructs the Justice Department to:
- Identify at least 75 jurisdictions where gun-related domestic violence is soaring and local authorities lack resources
- Establish contacts in every U.S. attorney’s office and ATF field office to handle requests for assistance
The new bill still has some gaps:
- The “boyfriend loophole” is not addressed. It allows people convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence against dating partners to keep their guns.
By contrast, a current or former spouse loses their gun rights under the federal law.
- Neither the Senate nor House bill, which passed last year, specifies how convicted felons and abusers must relinquish their firearms or how police, prosecutors and courts should go about removing guns from offenders who are prohibited from having them. revealnews.org/article/how-th…
Advocates are hopeful that the 2022 update will break through the logjam.
The new bill has 11 Republican co-sponsors, a rare show of bipartisanship on firearms issues, and echoes the House version in key ways. revealnews.org/article/how-th…
“After (Reveal’s) investigation, there was no denying it anymore,” said @CAPActionGVP’s Marissa Edmund. The project “100% lit a fire for members of Congress.”
News from us! We’ve recently welcomed six talented journalists, underscoring our investment in producing investigative reporting with impact, connecting deeply with audiences and telling gripping audio narratives.
.@cassandrajar is our new investigative reporter and will be covering democracy and police accountability for us after distinguishing herself as a relentless police reporter at @dallasnews. bit.ly/reveal-hires
From Washington, D.C., to Aurora, Colorado, and St. Louis, this week we bring you three local investigative stories that have had a big impact. 🧵 revealnews.org/podcast/who-ha…
1️⃣ In 2021, a group of hackers attacked the @DCPoliceDept, leaking 250 GBs of data and revealing the inner workings of the department.
@dmehro found a disturbing pattern of disciplinary decisions that kept troubled officers on the force. bit.ly/reveal-power
2️⃣ Elijah McClain was injected w/ketamine during a police stop. He died after suffering cardiac arrest.
@mdy1 + @raedear1 covered McClain’s case in Aurora, Colorado. It made them wonder how often ketamine is used during police stops and why. What they found led to real change.
From Washington, D.C., to Aurora, Colorado, and St. Louis, we bring you three local investigative stories that have had a big impact. 🧵 revealnews.org/podcast/who-ha…
1️⃣ In 2021, a group of hackers attacked the @DCPoliceDept, leaking 250 GBs of data and revealing the inner workings of the department.
@dmehro found a disturbing pattern of disciplinary decisions that kept troubled officers on the force. bit.ly/reveal-power
2️⃣ Elijah McClain was injected w/ketamine during a police stop. He died after suffering cardiac arrest.
@mdy1 + @raedear1 covered McClain’s case in Aurora, Colorado. It made them wonder how often ketamine is used during police stops and why. What they found led to real change.
Texas Deputy Patrick Divers won’t be disciplined for tasing an unarmed refugee child at a migrant children’s shelter.
The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office has provided a series of contradictory and confusing statements about its investigation into the deputy.revealnews.org/article/texas-…
The tasing took place at Southwest Key Casa Blanca, a government-sponsored shelter in San Antonio, in 2020.
The incident only became publicly known more than a year later after Reveal obtained the footage through a public records request and published it. revealnews.org/article/im-goi…
In December, the department told us that Divers had returned to work, but that the investigation was ongoing.
A month later, we were told the investigation into Divers had actually concluded in July.
In the end, Divers’ administrative leave was only 10 days — and it was paid.
UPDATE: In June, we published bodycam footage of a Texas sheriff’s deputy, Patrick Divers, tasing an unarmed refugee child at a shelter for migrant children.
Divers tased the refugee child, a 16-year-old boy, for 35 seconds.
The incident originally took place in May 2020 and only became publicly known more than a year later after Reveal obtained the footage through a public records request and published it.
The footage shows Divers arrived at the government-sponsored shelter in San Antonio after staff called 911 because the boy refused to go to class and allegedly broke some bed frames and bins.
Divers did not request evidence of the child’s alleged wrongdoing before tasing him.
The final chapter of #AfterAyotzinapa, our three-part investigation into the abduction of 43 Mexican students, looks at how an unexpected turn in Mexico’s politics leads to a new investigation with a new special prosecutor.
Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s election as president leads to Mexico reopening the investigation into the Ayotzinapa students.
Omar Gómez Trejo, who left Mexico in fear after accusing the previous government of a cover up in the case, is the new prosecutor.revealnews.org/podcast/after-…
As prosecutor, Gómez Trejo gathers evidence to indict members of the previous government for manipulating evidence and forcing confessions.
➡️ He would eventually get ahold of more than 50 videos showing torture by government authorities. revealnews.org/podcast/after-…