© 2024 KLCC

KLCC
136 W 8th Ave
Eugene OR 97401
541-463-6000
klcc@klcc.org

Contact Us

FCC Applications
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Domestic Assault Conviction Can Restrict Gun Ownership

nyagv.org/take-action

This week, the U.S. Supreme court ruled 6 to 2 that a person convicted of misdemeanor reckless domestic assault can be restricted from gun ownership. As KLCC’s Tiffany Eckert reports, the decision will impact every Oregon county.

The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence estimates the presence of a gun in the home increases the risk of homicide by more than 500 percent.  Nearly half of Oregon counties see at least one murder by an intimate partner each year. More often than not, victims die from gunshot. Guns are also used to intimidate and threaten at a higher rate than any other weapon.

Teresa Aslin is acting Executive Director of Womenspace. This is the domestic violence service agency for Lane County. They help more than 11,000 survivors each year. Aslin says at least twice a week they hear about victims being threatened with a gun.

Aslin: “It’s something we actually assess for when we’re going to bring somebody into shelter. We do a danger assessment and that needs to be asked when you’re looking at lethality. There’s more than one question that addresses access to weapons and specifically access to guns.”

Aslin says the Supreme Court's decision to restrict gun access to violent partners does not interfere with their constitutional rights.

Aslin:"Those that have perpetrated violence toward someone else and that they're gonna use that gun--they interfere with the rights of someone. It's not your right anymore."

Credit Tiffany Eckert
Teresa Aslin is acting ED with WomenSpace in Eugene.

Tiffany joined the KLCC News team in 2007. She studied journalism at the University of Missouri-Columbia and worked in a variety of media including television, technical writing, photography and daily print news before moving to the Pacific Northwest.