(WIFR) – Lawmakers across Illinois are speaking out against the rising number of domestic violence deaths and pushing to pass legislation to keep guns out of the hands of suspected abusers.
In 2023, Karina Gonzalez and her daughter were shot and killed by her husband in their home just weeks after a protective order was issued against him. The bill named after her would require police officers to quickly confiscate firearms from suspected abusers while enforcing protective orders. The bill is currently stalled in the Senate, but a new report from the Illinois Domestic Violence Coalition is hopeful that it will spur lawmakers to act.
The ICADV report showed that domestic violence deaths increased by 110% in 2023 compared to the previous year, with 120 deaths in 93 cases of domestic violence.
Jennifer Cacciapaglia of the Rockford Mayor’s Office of Domestic Violence and Human Trafficking Prevention said the report reflects a systemic problem that can be solved with bold leaders stepping up to the plate.
“What this report does, and should do, for our community is make us all stop and think about whether we are part of a system that can improve how we respond to victims and their children,” Cacciapaglia said. “We have to do better.”
Karina’s bill has faced pushback from police departments, who are concerned that there aren’t enough resources to support the effort. But Rep. Dave Vella believes the bill could pass the Senate if it encourages more people to become police officers. He says there’s a lot to consider on this issue, but he thinks we can all agree that guns shouldn’t be in the hands of violent people.
“The question is, what do we do with these guns? Do we just throw them in a warehouse somewhere? Finding a place to store guns is going to be very important because a lot of people have a lot of guns,” Vela said. “We need to make sure that counties and municipalities are not liable for damage to these guns.”
Cacciapaglia said Rockford was the first city to report incidents to the Domestic Violence Fatality Study, which examines data on the number of domestic violence deaths and their severity and frequency to prevent future incidents. A quick conversation over coffee could be the key to creating a system that holds perpetrators accountable, she said.
“If you’re sitting across from a survivor, please continue to offer them encouragement and hope and help them understand that they are not alone,” Cacciapaglia said.
John Milner, president of the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police, said police chiefs “love this law” but “we can’t let it run away like a bull in a china shop. We have to make sure it’s enforced in a way that’s safe for police officers as well as victims of crime.”
ICADV also reports that of the 120 domestic violence deaths in 2023, 56% were women, aged between 1 and 86 years.
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