On the one-year anniversary of the Domestic Violence Offender Gun Ban, the federal law that prohibits anyone convicted of a domestic violence misdemeanor from owning a gun, Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) announced at a press conference that the law had kept guns out of the hands of 2,000 domestic abusers. At the press conference Feminist Majority President Eleanor Smeal commended the gun ban and condemned efforts to gut the law. Also speaking in support of the gun ban were Reps. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) and John Conyers (D-MI), Donna Edwards of the National Network to End Domestic Violence, Hubert Williams of the Police Foundation, Tina Miele, a victim of domestic violence at the hands of her police officer husband, and Frieda Ford, whose daughter was fatally shot by a boyfriend.

Sponsored by Lautenberg, the gun ban has been under attack by the National Rifle Association since its enactment in September 1996. Some police organizations object to the law because they say police officers who are prevented from using a gun will lose their jobs. Several bills were introduced last year to add an exemption for police officers and members of the military, and to make the law apply only to those who have been convicted since the law was passed. The Feminist Majority and other women's rights and domestic violence groups have staved off these attacks on the Domestic Violence Offender Gun Ban thus far.

"You cannot get away with domestic violence because your work involves a uniform - military or otherwise," said Lautenberg.

Some police groups, however, strongly support the law, including the Police Foundation, the National Black Police Association, and the Feminist Majority Foundation's National Center for Women and Policing. Several studies show that 40% of police families experience domestic violence, compared to 10% of the general public. "Rather than seeking exemptions for police officers who are abusers, we should concerned with why we are recruiting so many abusers for these positions," said Smeal.

Anecdotal evidence from police departments reveals that about half of all 911 calls are domestic violence-related. "Allowing police officers who have been convicted of domestic violence to keep their guns and to remain in a position responsible for intervening in domestic violence disputes creates a public safety crisis of major proportions for women," said Smeal. "Rather than eliminating retroactivity from the Domestic Violence Offender Gun Ban, we should focus on how the law can be more aggressively enforced. We know that 2,000 is just the tip of the iceberg."

The Defense Department recently said they would take guns away from employees convicted of domestic violence, and would either discharge such employees or transfer them to jobs that did not require guns. €