HRES 837

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IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

October 28, 2025

Mr. Espaillat submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the relationship between firearm violence and intimate partner violence and to honor the memory of Gladys Ricart and other victims of intimate partner homicide killed by firearms, and for other purposes.

Whereas domestic violence perpetrated with a firearm disproportionately affects millions of American adults and children, with a particular impact on women; Whereas, according to recent data, nearly 92 percent of women killed by firearms in high-income countries in an average year are from the United States; Whereas firearms are used in nearly 66 percent of cases where women are killed by their intimate partners; Whereas, every month, an average of 70 women are killed with a firearm by an intimate partner; Whereas an American woman is killed with a firearm by a current or former partner around every 12 hours; Whereas approximately 59 percent of mass shootings in recent years were connected to instances of domestic or intimate partner violence; Whereas only 16 percent of victims in domestic violence-related mass shootings survive such incidents compared to 37 percent of victims in mass shootings unrelated to domestic violence; Whereas nearly 1 in 10 United States adults have experienced nonfatal firearm abuse at the hands of an intimate partner, such as being threatened directly with a firearm or by a partner who possessed or had easy access to a firearm; Whereas, when an abusive partner has access to a firearm, a female victim of such abuse is 5 times more likely to be killed; Whereas 77 percent of firearm intimate partner homicide victims are female; Whereas the deadly intersection of firearms and intimate partner violence affects all women, but it has a disproportionate impact on Black women, American Indian/Alaska Native women, and Hispanic women in the United States; Whereas 1 in 3 Hispanic women in the United States experience intimate partner violence during their lifetime; Whereas more than half of American Indian and Alaska Native women experience physical violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime; and Whereas, compared to non-Hispanic White women, Black women in the United States are 3 times more likely to be fatally shot by an intimate partner, and nearly 6 times more likely to be fatally shot between the ages of 18 and 34: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That—

(1) the House of Representatives—

(A) recognizes the relationship between firearm violence and intimate partner violence;

(B) commends domestic violence victim advocates, domestic violence victim service providers, crisis hotline staff, and first responders serving victims of domestic violence for their compassionate support of survivors of domestic violence; and

(C) pledges to fund comprehensive research on the nexus of firearms and intimate partner violence, including the disproportionate impact on Black, American Indian/Alaska Native, and Hispanic people; and

(2) it is the sense of the House of Representatives that the Congress should—

(A) strengthen the National Instant Criminal Background Check System to keep firearms out of the hands of those who are prohibited from possessing them;

(B) restrict access to firearms by all people subject to domestic violence restraining orders;

(C) continue to support programs designed to assist survivors of domestic violence, hold perpetrators of domestic violence accountable, and bring an end to domestic violence;

(D) continue to support local relinquishment processes to ensure compliance with Federal firearm prohibitions in domestic violence cases; and

(E) immediately consider H.R. 4166, the Strengthening Protections for Domestic Violence and Stalking Survivors Act of 2025, H.R. 18, the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2025, and all other relevant legislation that is targeted toward reducing the risk of firearm violence, reducing the risk of intimate partner violence, and recognizing and combating the deadly relationship between the two. <all>