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1 [1] (March 10, 2021)

handle is hein.crs/govecol0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research Service Infr 1n0 thlesatv deat si 14 March 10, 2021 Firearms Eligibility: Stalking- and Domestic Violence-Related Provisions in H.R. 1620 The 117th Congress is considering the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2021 (H.R. 1620). This bill includes several provisions that seek to reduce firearms- related intimate partner violence (homicides and injury) by amending federal law to prohibit persons convicted of misdemeanor stalking crimes from receiving or possessing a firearm or ammunition, as well as revising related provisions governing domestic violence protection orders and amending a definition of intimate partner under current law. This bill also includes other provisions related to leveraging state, local, tribal, and territorial resources to increase federal investigation and prosecution of firearms- related eligibility offenses related to domestic violence and stalking. The House passed a bill with identical provisions in the 116th Congress (H.R. 1585). Prohibited Persons and Domestic Violence Current law (18 U.S.C. §922(g)) prohibits nine categories of persons from receiving or possessing firearms or ammunition; and (18 U.S.C. §922(d)) prohibits any person from transferring or otherwise disposing of a firearm or ammunition to any person if the transferor has reasonable cause to believe the transferee would be prohibited under one of those nine categories. Two of those categories speak directly to domestic violence: persons under court-order restraints related to harassing, stalking, or threatening an intimate partner or child of such intimate partner (18 U.S.C. §§922(d)(8) and (g)(8)); and persons convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence (18 U.S.C. §§922(d)(9) and (g)(9)). Intimate Partner Definition Under current law, the term intimate partner means, with respect to a person, the spouse of the person, a former spouse of the person, an individual who is a parent of a child of the person, and an individual who cohabitates or has cohabitated with the person (18 U.S.C. §921(a)(32)). H.R. 1620 would expand this definition to include a dating partner or former dating partner (as defined in section 2266 [of Title 18, United States Code]); and any other person similarly situated to a spouse who is protected by the domestic or family violence laws of the State or tribal jurisdiction in which the injury occurred or where the victim resides. Under 18 U.S.C. §2266(a)(10), the term dating partner refers to a person who is or has been in a social relationship of a romantic or intimate nature with the abuser; and the existence of such a relationship is based on a consideration of (1) the length of the relationship; (2) the type of relationship; and (3) the frequency of interaction between the persons involved in the relationship. Misdemeanor Crime of Stalking H.R. 1620 would make any person convicted of a misdemeanor crime of stalking a tenth category of prohibited persons. The bill would define such a crime as any misdemeanor stalking offense under federal, state, tribal, or municipal law; and one that (1) is a course of harassment, intimidation, or surveillance of another person that places that person in reasonable fear of material harm to the health or safety of her or himself, an immediate family member of that person, a household member of that person, or a spouse or intimate partner of that person; or (2) causes, attempts to cause, or would reasonably be expected to cause, emotional distress to any of those persons. The proposed definition is subject to certain mitigating factors. A person would not be considered to have been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of stalking, unless (1) the person was represented by counsel in the case, or (2) they knowingly and intelligently waived the right to counsel in the case. In the case of a prosecution for a misdemeanor crime of stalking for which a person was entitled to a jury trial, a person would not be considered convicted in the jurisdiction in which the case was tried, unless (1) the case was tried by a jury; or (2) the person knowingly and intelligently waived the right to have the case tried by a jury, by guilty plea, or otherwise. Protection Orders or Court-Order Restraints H.R. 1620 would also expand the scope of protection orders or court-order restraints under 18 U.S.C. §§922(d)(8) and (g)(8). Under current law these provisions prohibit any person from firearms receipt, possession, or transfer, who is subject to a court order that: (A) was issued after a hearing of which such person received actual notice, and at which such person had an opportunity to participate; (B) restrains such person from harassing, stalking, or threatening an intimate partner of such person or child of such intimate partner or person, or engaging in other conduct that would place an intimate partner in reasonable fear of bodily injury to the partner or child; and ittps://Crsreports.congress.gt 0