Domestic Violence Group Endorses Background Checks For Gun Buyers

A Wisconsin group representing victims of domestic abuse supports all the measures outlined by President Obama to reduce gun violence. But the group says of all the measures, the most effective way to protect victims of abuse may be better background checks on gun purchases.

Last October, a Brookfield spa worker was killed by her abusive husband with a gun he bought on the internet. Four people, including the shooter, died. The weapon, which was purchased over the internet, did not require a background check. Tony Gibart from the Wisconsin Coalition Against Domestic Violence says all gun purchasers should go through background checks, “Because we’ve seen, frankly, too many cases where it appears that had a background check been required that an abuser would not have gotten a gun or at the very least found it very difficult to get a gun. And that might have made the difference in saving a life.”

The Wisconsin Coalition Against Domestic Violence isn’t the first group to push for background checks of private gun sales and those at gun shows. Last July, the Wisconsin Police Chiefs Association also called for this. Their plea came after a national report showing police deaths for on-duty officers outnumbered motor vehicle accidents for the first time.