Federal firearm prohibitions tied to domestic violence convictions would be extended to people convicted of abusing a current or former dating partner, not just a spouse or co-parent. The bill also creates a new federal firearm prohibition for anyone convicted of a misdemeanor crime of stalking, defined as a course of harassment, intimidation, or surveillance that causes reasonable fear of harm or serious emotional distress. The stalking prohibition reaches conduct directed at intimate partners, family members, roommates, and the person's pet or service animal. Convictions only count if the person had a lawyer or knowingly waived counsel, and if the case was tried by jury or jury trial was knowingly waived.
Civil Liberties
- Federal firearm prohibition — Extended to misdemeanor stalking convictions
- Dating-partner abuse coverage — Now triggers federal gun ban without marriage or cohabitation
Criminal Justice & Due Process
- Stalking conduct defined federally — Includes surveillance causing reasonable emotional distress
Congressional Summary
Strengthening Protections for Domestic Violence and Stalking Survivors Act of 2025This bill extends federal restrictions on the receipt, possession, shipment, and transportation of firearms and ammunition to new types of stalking and domestic violence offenders.Specifically, the bill extends federal firearms-related restrictions to individuals who are convicted of a misdemeanor crime of stalking. The term misdemeanor crime of stalking means a federal, state, tribal, or local offense involving harassment, intimidation, or surveillance that (1) causes emotional distress; or (2) places a person in reasonable fear of harm to themselves, an immediate family member, a current or former cohabitant, an intimate partner, or a pet.Additionally, the bill extends federal firearms-related restrictions to individuals who are subject to a domestic violence protection order that restrains them from harassing, stalking, or threatening a current or former dating partner (regardless of when the relationship occurred) or an individual similarly situated to a spouse. Currently, the restrictions only apply if the domestic violence protection order restrains the individual from harassing, stalking, or threatening a co-parent, a current or former spouse, or a current or former cohabitant.Finally, the bill extends federal firearms-related restrictions to individuals who commit a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence against the child of a current or recent former dating partner. Currently, the restrictions only apply if the offense is committed against a current or recent former dating partner.
Details
- Congress
- 119th
- Chamber
- Senate
- Status
- summarized
- Action
- Introduced in Senate
- Action Date
- 2025-06-26
- Date Added
- 2026-05-19
- Source
- Congress.gov →
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