Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action Applauds the Illinois Legislature for Passing Legislation to Protect Domestic Violence Survivors from Gun Violence

SPRINGFIELD, Ill.  —  Today, the Illinois chapters of Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action released the following statements applauding the Illinois legislature for passing Karina’s Bill, legislation to strengthen current law requiring people subject to domestic violence restraining orders relinquish their firearms. House Bill 4144, co-sponsored by Senator Celina Villanueva and former Moms Demand Action leader, Representative Maura Hirschauer, will help ensure that people subject to domestic violence restraining orders are swiftly disarmed and cannot easily access firearms.  

“When domestic abusers have access to guns, the effects are often deadly. When we swiftly and effectively remove illegal guns from the hands of domestic abusers, we can save lives,” said Mary Kay Baldino, a gun violence survivor and  volunteer with the Illinois chapter of Moms Demand Action. “While we wish Illinois lawmakers also took action to pass critical legislation, like the policies to help clear cold homicide cases and increase data transparency, we are pleased lawmakers were able to get this bill over the finish line. We hope our lawmakers will use 2025 to prioritize clearance rates, and continue to improve its systems for disarming domestic abusers to help protect survivors and vulnerable parties and families across the state.”

​​Gun-related intimate partner violence is a devastating and lethal crisis facing women and families in the United States. Every month, an average of 76 women are shot and killed by an intimate partner. In Illinois, 66% of women killed by an intimate partner were killed by a gun. The risk of a woman being killed by an intimate partner increases five times when abusers have access to a gun. States that prohibit abusers subject to domestic violence restraining orders from possessing guns have seen a 13 percent reduction in intimate partner firearm homicide rates.

Illinois continues to lead on gun safety. Illinois ranks third in the nation for its comprehensive gun laws. In 2023, following a historic election where sixteen Illinois Moms Demand Action volunteers running for office up and down the ballot won, Illinois passed the historic Protect Illinois Communities Act. The Protect Illinois Communities Act included laws to prohibit assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, facilitate better implementation and efficacy of Illinois’s Firearm Restraining Order (FRO) law, and address illegal gun trafficking in the state. Now, lawmakers in Illinois have the opportunity to pass much needed legislation to bring justice and closure to families impacted by gun violence, and our grassroots army is ready to work alongside gun-sense champions to make that happen. 

In an average year, 1,719 people die by guns and 4,994 are wounded by guns in Illinois. Guns are the leading cause of death among children and teens in Illinois, with an average of 212 children and teens dying by guns every year. More information about gun violence in Illinois is available here.