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Disarming Abusers And Triggering The Sixth Amendment: Are Domestic Violence Misdemeanants Guaranteed The Right To A Jury Trial?, Julia Hatheway

Fordham Law Review

Domestic violence is a global issue, but in the United States it is especially lethal. Hundreds of women are shot and killed in the United States by intimate partners every year. Federal and state legislatures have enacted laws that focus on the issue of domestic violence and gun violence. In 1996, Congress passed the Lautenberg Amendment to the Gun Control Act of 1968, which permanently prohibits individuals convicted of domestic violence misdemeanors from possessing firearms. Twenty-nine states and the District of Columbia have also enacted laws that mirror the Lautenberg Amendment. In many jurisdictions, misdemeanor domestic violence convictions carry a …