Calling the Shots: How Family Courts Address the Firearms Ban in Protection Orders

Access to firearms increases the risk of a batterer killing his partner. Moreover, firearms may be more common in homes where intimate partner abuse has occurred. The Violence Against Women Act of 1994 banned possession of firearms by individuals subject to civil protection orders. Yet little research has focused on how this ban is communicated to survivors and batterers. Drawing on systematic observations of protection order hearings, the current study explores factors related to judicial discussion of the ban in court. Implications for improving protection orders and for increasing battered women's safety are discussed.