In June, President Joe Biden signed a compromise gun violence measure, the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, in response to the mass shooting at a Uvalde, Texas, elementary school. The new law fulfills a campaign promise to protect more victims of domestic violence from guns.
In March, Biden had signed a reauthorization of the lapsed Violence Against Women Act. However, the negotiations to secure bipartisan agreement in the Senate required the removal of language to close the "boyfriend loophole," which involves expanding the categories of people who are prevented from owning or purchasing guns after being convicted of domestic violence.
Because Biden had specifically cited the boyfriend loophole in his promise to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act, we rated this promise a Compromise.
The new law completes this promise.
Prior to passage of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, only people who had been married to a victim, lived with them, or had a child with them could be barred from owning a gun due to domestic violence.
Under the new law, however, intimate partners who have dated could be barred from owning a gun due to a domestic violence conviction. The definition in the law covers individuals with "a continuing serious relationship of a romantic or intimate nature." In the absence of an official document, such as a marriage license, the law encourages courts and lawyers to weigh whether a relationship constitutes dating by looking at how long the people have been involved with each other and how often they saw each other.
The law specifically states that casual or work relationships don't apply.
For people convicted of domestic violence against someone they've married, or against someone they had a child with, the ban on owning a firearm is permanent. In all other cases, the abuser is barred from owning a firearm for five years. After that time, they regain the right, so long as they have committed no other offenses.
During the debate over the bill, opponents of closing the boyfriend loophole argued that there can be uncertainty over whether people are dating. Gun ownership, they said, is a constitutional right, and any moves to limit that must get over a high bar.
In the end, however, the bill passed with bipartisan support in both chambers. It cleared the Senate in a 65-33 vote and the House in a 234-193 vote.
The combination of Biden's signing of the Violence Against Women Act and the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act completes the fulfillment of his campaign promise. We rate it a Promise Kept.