Preventing firearm violence among victims of intimate partner violence: An evaluation of a new North Carolina law

Introduction: North Carolina enacted S.L. 2003-410 (S919) which prohibits persons subject to a qualifying domestic violence protective order (DVPO) from owning or possessing any firearms and requires them to surrender any firearms to the county sheriff within 24 hours.

Methods: We used DVPO files, criminal background checks of DVPO defendants, and longitudinal interview data with DVPO plaintiffs to examine: 1) the scope and nature of firearm possession by DVPO defendants; 2) pre- and post-legislation experiences of firearm-related intimate partner violence (IPV) among female DVPO plaintiffs; 3) judges' behaviors specifying firearm-related conditions in DVPOs prior to and following the legislation; and 4) the proportion of and manner in which male DVPO defendants' surrendered firearms subsequent to new legislation.

Results: 460 (63%) of cases were filed pre-legislation and 271 (37%) post-legislation. Over one third (38%) of the defendants had access to firearms and nearly one quarter (23%) of the plaintiffs had experienced firearm-related IPV. Women filing for DVPOs post-legislation were significantly more likely to receive an order that included firearms-related restrictions than women who filed pre-legislation. (p=.036) After adjusting for other variables, women who received DVPOs pre-legislation were more than twice as likely for a judge to not to restrict the defendant's access to firearms, as compared to women who filed post-legislation (OR = 2.44; 95% CI = 1.12 – 1.91). We also found that there was no system to document the status of defendants' firearms.

Conclusions: We also include suggestions for research, policy, and practice pertaining to firearms and DVPOs.