Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf asked lawmakers in the state House to pass a package of bipartisan domestic violence legislation.
The upper chamber of the state already approved the bills including Senate Bill 501, which fixes a Pennsylvania law that allows domestic abusers possess guns. State lawmakers in the lower chamber are set to reconvene on April 9.
In a statement, Gov. Wolf said, “The bills passed by the Senate are important steps toward providing additional protections for victims of domestic violence. Most importantly, we must ensure that domestic abusers do not have access to firearms.”
Additionally, the governor noted that 156 mass shootings occurred from 2009 to 2016 based on a recent research. Those mass shootings resulted in 1,187 victims (848 people died and 339 sustained injuries). A majority of the mass shootings (54%) were related to domestic or family violence. Therefore, it is a fact that domestic abusers use firearms to kill their victims and others.
Furthermore, Gov. Wolf emphasized, “The House should act on these bipartisan, commonsense pieces of legislation so I can sign them into law. We must protect victims – spouses and children – of domestic violence and attempt to prevent domestic abusers from escalating their violence…”
Gov. Wolf supports the following domestic violence legislation
- Senate Bill 501—requires a defendant to relinquish all firearms and ammunition as well as other weapons after a court issues a Protection from Abuse (PFA) order. State Sen. Thomas Killion introduced the bill.
- Senate Bill 313—allows a domestic violence victim to opt out of a shared phone plan with the abuser with no penalty. State Sen. Lisa Boscola is the author of the Bill.
- Senate Bill 500—allows a law enforcement official to accompany a victim to his or her residence before or during the service of a PFA order. State Sen. Randy Vulakovich is the main sponsor of the legislation.
- Senate Bill 502—allows judges to extend a PFA order if it is set to expire while a defendant is in prison. It also allows judges to create a new PFA order if the original already expired. State. Sen. Thomas McCarrigle introduced the bill.
- Senate Bill 919—allows a resident of a county housing authority to request a relocation if he/she or a family member is a victim of domestic or sexual violence. State Senators Art Haywood is the primary sponsor of the legislation.
