[DV_listserv] DV and Firearms

Mon Jul 25 12:29:45 PDT 2016

On July 15th, Governor Brown issued an Executive Order (EO) related to gun violence (attached above). A central component of the EO is the creation of a workgroup devoted to look at the issue of firearms and domestic violence.

As a reminder, here's what DV/Gun Violence "looks" like in Oregon and around the country:

In 2015, 48 Oregonians died in DV-related incidents. Of those deaths, 66% were caused by firearms. This was not an atypical year (as you'll note in the research below).

It is undisputed that the introduction of guns into a domestic violence relationship greatly increases the potential for lethality for victims (and perpetrators), as well as the police officers who often have to intervene in domestic violence situations. There is also recent information demonstrating that a majority of the mass shootings in the United States are related to domestic or family violence. Furthermore, perpetrators of mass shootings (not related to domestic or family violence) often have a previous history of domestic violence.[1] In addition to lethal incidents involving domestic violence perpetrators and guns, it has been shown that abusers who possess firearms tend to inflict the most severe abuse on their victims.

The following statistics bear out the truth of these statements:

  *   Abused women are five times more likely to be killed by their abuser if the abuser owns a firearm.[2]
  *   Domestic violence assaults involving a gun are twelve times more likely to result in death than those involving other weapons or bodily force. [3]
  *   A perpetrator's prior threat or assault with a firearm results in twenty times higher risk of death in the context of an intimate partner relationship. [4]

Information about DV-related deaths in Oregon corroborates the national studies:

  *   DV-related homicides on average comprise 20% of all violent deaths in Oregon.[5]
  *   Sixty-plus percent of all DV-related homicides in Oregon are the result of a gunshot wound.[6]
  *   Nearly 75% of all homicide/suicides are DV-related. 85% (or more) involve the use of a firearm.[7]

As stated above, it's not just domestic violence victims who are at risk from perpetrators with guns. Police officers and members of the public are in great danger of injury or death when identified DV offenders own, possess, or have access to firearms:

  *   From 1996-2009, fourteen percent of all officers killed on duty were responding to DV calls.[8]
  *   From 1996-2009, ninety-seven percent of officers killed on DV calls were murdered with firearms. [9]
  *   A study of every identifiable mass shooting (shooting in which four or more people were murdered) between January 2009 and July 2014 found that 57% of them involved the killing of a family member or a current or former intimate partner of the shooter. [10]

While the greatest perceptible cost of the combination of guns and domestic violence is the loss of life, we should also be very disturbed and concerned about the abuse inflicted by domestic violence perpetrators who own, possess, or have access to firearms. Studies have revealed that abusers who possess guns tend to inflict the most severe abuse on their partners.[11]

[1] Shifman, Pamela and Tillet, Salamisha, To Stop Violence, Start at Home. New York Times Op-ed (February 2, 2015).
2 Jacquelyn C. Campbell et al. Risk Factors for Femicide in Abusive Relationships. Results from a multisite Case Control Study, 93 Am. J. Pub. Health 1089, 1092 (July 2003).
3 Linda E. Saltzman, et al., Weapon Involvement and Injury Outcomes in Family and Intimate Assaults. 267 JAMA, 3043-3047 (1992).
4 Kellermann AL, Rivara FP, Rushforth NB, et al. Gun ownership as a risk factor for homicide in the home. New England Journal of Medicine. 1993;329(15):1084-1091.
5 Shen X., Millet L. , "Homicides Related to Intimate Partner Violence in Oregon: A Seven Year Review," Oregon Department of Human Services (2010) Portland, Oregon.
6 Shen X., Millet L., "Homicide Trends and Characteristics in Oregon, 2014 Report," Oregon Health Authority, Portland, Oregon.
7 Shen X., Millet L., "Violent Deaths in Oregon: 2011," Oregon Health Authority, Portland, Oregon.
8 Police Chief Magazine: December, 2012.
9 Id.
10 Everytown for Gun Safety: Analysis of Recent Mass Shootings (July 2014).
11 Jacquelyn C. Campbell et al., Risk Factors For Femicide in Abusive Relationships: Results From A Multi-Site Case Control Study, 93 Am. J. of Public Health 1089, 1092 (2003), abstract available at http://www.ajph.org/cgi/content/abstract/93/7/1089; http://jiv.sagepub.com/content/28/6/1143.abstract

Erin S. Greenawald
Sr. Assistant Attorney General | DA/LE Assistance| Criminal Justice Division
Oregon Department of Justice
2250 McGilchrist Street SE, Suite 100, Salem OR 97302
Main: 503.378.6347 | Desk: 503.934.2024 | Fax: 503.373.1937

________________________________

[1] Shifman, Pamela and Tillet, Salamisha, To Stop Violence, Start at Home. New York Times Op-ed (February 2, 2015).

[2] Jacquelyn C. Campbell et al. Risk Factors for Femicide in Abusive Relationships. Results from a multisite Case Control Study, 93 Am. J. Pub. Health 1089, 1092 (July 2003).

[3] Linda E. Saltzman, et al., Weapon Involvement and Injury Outcomes in Family and Intimate Assaults. 267 JAMA, 3043-3047 (1992).

[4] Kellermann AL, Rivara FP, Rushforth NB, et al. Gun ownership as a risk factor for homicide in the home. New England Journal of Medicine. 1993;329(15):1084-1091.

[5] Shen X., Millet L. , "Homicides Related to Intimate Partner Violence in Oregon: A Seven Year Review," Oregon Department of Human Services (2010) Portland, Oregon.

[6] Shen X., Millet L., "Homicide Trends and Characteristics in Oregon, 2014 Report," Oregon Health Authority, Portland, Oregon.

[7] Shen X., Millet L., "Violent Deaths in Oregon: 2011," Oregon Health Authority, Portland, Oregon.

[8] Police Chief Magazine: December, 2012.

[9] Id.

[10] Everytown for Gun Safety: Analysis of Recent Mass Shootings (July 2014).

[11] Jacquelyn C. Campbell et al., Risk Factors For Femicide in Abusive Relationships: Results From A Multi-Site Case Control Study, 93 Am. J. of Public Health 1089, 1092 (2003), abstract available at http://www.ajph.org/cgi/content/abstract/93/7/1089; http://jiv.sagepub.com/content/28/6/1143.abstract

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