‘Boyfriend Loophole’ is the Target in Latest Gun Control Push

Last year we made massive progress in closing the ‘boyfriend loophole’ by stopping partners convicted of abuse from getting guns – but we can do more. I’ve introduced legislation with @DebDingell to strengthen the laws against convicted stalkers to save lives and protect victims.

— Amy Klobuchar (@amyklobuchar) February 14, 2023

Lawmakers in both the House and Senate are advocating for stricter gun-control regulations that would prevent people convicted of domestic abuse during a dating relationship from purchasing or owning firearms permanently. 

This effort aims to close the “boyfriend loophole,” a term used to refer to the current law that only prohibits abusive partners from accessing guns temporarily.

Last year, President Biden signed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which added domestic violence abusers in dating relationships to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, but this only resulted in a five-year ban that could be lifted if no other crimes were committed.

Recently, Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) introduced legislation to eliminate the “recently” language from the current law and make the restriction applicable to convicted stalkers. The new law would permanently prevent abusers in dating relationships from buying or owning firearms, regardless of the amount of time since their last abusive relationship. 

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“Federal law still includes a ‘boyfriend loophole’ that allows abusive dating partners subject to protection orders and convicted stalkers to access firearms,” said Dingell. “I know this fear all too well. Growing up, I lived in a house with a man – my father – who should not have had access to a gun. I remember the terror my siblings and I felt as we hid from him in the closet and in fear of him using it to hurt my mother.”

While the bill is sponsored by Democrats in the House and Senate, it does have one Republican cosponsor in the House: Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania. He agreed that a permanent ban on domestic abusers is needed even outside of marriage.

“Domestic abusers should never be allowed access to firearms, period,” said Fitzpatrick. “The current intimate partner loophole allows violent domestic abusers to purchase firearms, and this bipartisan legislation takes that ability away.”

This leaves me with two questions. One, would this bipartisan legislation actually prohibit violent domestic abusers from purchasing firearms? And two, is this the best course of action to protect people who find themselves in a relationship with an abuser? 

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