Editorial: Protecting abuse victims

Monday, March 26, 2007 | 7:18 a.m.

A Nevada lawmaker has proposed legislation that would require anyone under a restraining order in a domestic violence case to surrender his or her firearms until the order expires.

The bill, sponsored by Assemblyman William Horne, D-Las Vegas, would allow people to continue owning their guns, but they could not possess them while under the restraining order.

An Associated Press story reports that Horne told the Assembly Judiciary Committee that the measure is designed to prevent those involved in emotionally charged domestic disputes from having access to guns "when tempers are at their highest" and "people aren't thinking their clearest." People under restraining orders in domestic violence cases have been known to use guns against their victims and against other people "who happen to just be in their way," Horne said.

Members of the Southern Nevada Domestic Violence Prevention Task Force said that guns cause most deaths related to domestic violence cases and that in 2004 Nevada ranked fifth nationally in the number of women killed by someone they knew intimately, the AP reports.

It isn't clear, however, how this measure would be enforced. Supporters of the bill have not spelled out who would be responsible for making certain that people turned in their guns and where the weapons would be stored.

Still, we agree that it would be prudent to find some way to keep firearms out of the hands of people whose behavior toward a former spouse or intimate partner has proved troublesome enough to warrant a restraining order.

Obviously, when such an order is issued, the situation has reached a volatile point. Removing weapons from this mix seems only logical.