Washington, D.C. — Violence against women remains a public health crisis, both in the United States and abroad. A new fact sheet released today by the Center for American Progress finds that guns exacerbate this crisis and make violent crimes against women exceptionally more deadly.
Some key findings of the column include:
- States that have an “F” rating for their weak gun laws have higher rates of female firearm homicide than states with an “A” rating.
- More than 50 percent of all female homicides by an intimate partner are committed with a firearm.
- Two-thirds of all mass shootings occur during a domestic violence incident.
- Laws that prevent abusers from accessing guns reduce intimate partner violence homicides by as much as 25 percent.
“Commonsense gun laws undoubtedly keep women safe and are the key to keeping guns out of the hands of domestic abusers,” said Marissa Edmund, senior policy analyst for Gun Violence Prevention at CAP and author of the fact sheet. “It is imperative for the protection and safety of women across the country that states take action.”
Read the fact sheet: “Weak Gun Laws Are Harmful to Women and Survivors of Domestic Abuse” by Marissa Edmund
For more information or to speak with an expert, please contact Madia Coleman at [email protected].