Keeping guns out of the hands of domestic abusers will prevent more senseless tragedies

In the aftermath of the horrific mass murder of parishioners attending Sunday services in a church in the small town of Sutherland Springs Texas, we learned about the killer’s violent past. In 2012, he was court martialed and convicted of domestic violence against his then-wife and step-child, an act that earned him a “bad conduct” discharge from the Air Force.

According news reports, Devin Kelley admitted to hitting his stepson on the head and body “with a force likely to produce death or grievous bodily harm.” He repeatedly shook the young boy, leading to injuries that fractured his skull and caused internal bleeding.

As for his then-wife, he admitted that he kicked, hit, and choked her and pulled her hair. As a part of a plea deal, the prosecution withdrew charges that he had also repeatedly pointed a loaded gun at her.

{mosads}Information about convictions of military personnel for crimes like this type of assault are supposed to be submitted to the FBI’s Criminal Justice Investigation Services Division under Pentagon rules.  

A 1996 federal law prohibits people convicted of domestic violence felonies or misdemeanors from possessing firearms. Certain types of domestic violence protective orders also may prohibit someone from owning a firearm. However, the Air Force failed to enter Kelley’s crimes into the federal database that would have sounded alarms when he later tried to purchase guns. Further investigation revealed that almost no such records have ever been entered.

Only a week later, another man with a protective order against him and a long history of violence against women, killed his wife before going on a shooting rampage that killed four others. It almost was much worse but for the quick action of school personnel who locked the shooter out of multiple classrooms. 

The link between mass murder and domestic violence

It shouldn’t surprise us that these gunmen had a history of domestic violence. A history of violence against women is not unusual in the annals of mass shooters.

Omar Mateen, who killed 49 people and injured 53 others in the Pulse nightclub massacre in Orlando last June, had an abusive relationship with his ex-wife, who said he frequently beat her, pulled her hair, and dug his fingernails into her wrists. Robert Lewis Dear, who killed 3 people and wounded 9 others when he opened fire on a Planned Parenthood in Colorado Springs in 2015, had been accused of domestic violence by two of his ex-wives and had been arrested for rape in 1992. 

An analysis of 156 mass shootings (defined as shooting in which 4 or more people are killed not including the shooter) by Everytown for Gun Safety  documented 1,187 victims who were shot and 848 who were killed in the United States between 2009 and 2016 The majority (54 percent) of shootings were related to domestic or family violence; 42 percent exhibited warning signs before the shooting. 

Fix National Instant Criminal Background Check System

After failure to respond to horrific mass shootings in the past, including the killing of 20 elementary school children in Newtown, Connecticut, congressional Republicans have signaled that they are finally willing to act. U.S. Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Tim Scott (R-S.C.) partnered with Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), and were joined by Senators Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Dean Heller (R-Nev.), and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), to introduce the Fix NICS Act.

If passed into law, this bill would help ensure that federal and state authorities input records into the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), through a carrot and stick approach — it penalizes federal agencies who fail to properly report relevant records and directs more federal funding to help agencies upload domestic violence records into the system.

These senators should be commended for taking this important first step. Importantly, they should also ensure that domestic violence convictions and protective order disqualifies also apply to stalking and instances of domestic violence in cases where the couple isn’t married.

As lifelong advocates for the health and safety of women, children and families, we strongly urge Congress to pass this legislation, before we once again wake up to the heartbreaking news of another preventable tragedy.

Patricia Salber M.D., CEO of The Doctor Weighs In, was the Founder and President of Physicians for a Violence-free Society. Esta Soler, Founder and CEO of Futures without Violence, has been working for more than three decades to stem the tide of domestic violence.