Tag: Gun Control

Domestic Violence Calls About ‘Reproductive Coercion’ Doubled After the Overturn of Roe

Reports of abuse involving reproductive coercion—actions that prevent someone from making crucial decisions about their body and reproductive health—nearly doubled in the yearlong period after Roe v. Wade was overturned.

Reproductive coercion can take the form of any situation in which one partner is exerting power over another in a way that impacts their reproductive health: forcing someone to engage in sexual activity, refusing to use contraception, restricting a partner from seeing a healthcare provider, telling a partner they are not allowed to receive abortion care.

Women Deserve to Live in a Nation Free of Gun Violence: The Ms. Q&A with Kris Brown

This fall, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in U.S. v. Rahimi, a case about a Texas law that prevents individuals subject to domestic violence restraining orders from possessing firearms. In a country where an abuser’s access to a firearm makes it five times more likely that he will kill his victim, where gun ownership continues to increase and where domestic violence and mass shootings are fundamentally entwined, a ruling overturning the Texas law (and making similar laws impermissible) would be disastrous.

“I believe America stands for the proposition that you can walk down the street and not get shot,” Kris Brown, president of Brady United Against Gun Violence, told Ms. “And I’ll never stop fighting for that.”

Upcoming SCOTUS Case Exposes Domestic Violence Victims to New Risks

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The Supreme Court is set to rule on United States v. Rahimi this term, a case which will decide whether the government can continue to prevent alleged domestic abusers with a restraining order from possessing firearms. 

Those of us on the frontlines of this battle must speak now. We can’t control the outcome of this case, but we can point to the data and fight for the survivors who come through the doors of our hospitals and social service organizations. We can’t afford to stand on the sidelines and let victims down.

The Supreme Court’s Blindness to Gender Violence

If you thought the Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade was the end of the Court’s war on women, think again. Now gender violence laws are under attack. Case in point: last term’s decision in Counterman v. Colorado striking down a stalking conviction as unconstitutional. This upcoming term, the Court is poised to deal another blow to domestic violence laws, in a case about guns: United States v. Rahimi.

The only answer is for women to return to a newly vital project since Dobbs: the Equal Rights Amendment.

(This article originally appears in the Fall 2023 issue of Ms. Join the Ms. community today and you’ll get issues delivered straight to your mailbox!)

War on Women Report: AP Psych Effectively Banned in Florida; Indiana and S.C. Abortion Bans Take Effect; Trump Indicted in Fourth Criminal Case 

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U.S. patriarchal authoritarianism is on the rise, and democracy is on the decline. But day after day, we stay vigilant in our goals to dismantle patriarchy at every turn. The fight is far from over. We are watching, and we refuse to go back. This is the War on Women Report.

Since our last report: 135 people have died in Texas prisons; two Indiana school districts must allow transgender students to use the bathrooms and locker rooms of their choosing; Advanced Placement Psychology classes are “effectively banned” in Florida; an 8-month pregnant woman was arrested and put in jail after a false facial recognition match; New Jersey supreme court sides with Catholic school that fired an unmarried pregnant teacher on religious grounds; a total ban on abortion has taken effect in Indiana, and a strict six-week ban in South Carolina; and more.

What’s Next On Gun Reform?

Ubiquitous gun violence is so uniquely an American problem, that two recent shootings—one in Jacksonville, Fla., and another at UNC-Chapel Hill—have barely broken through the news cycle. Gun violence also looms in our future, and in the hands of the Supreme Court.

A majority of Americans (58 percent) say gun laws in the country should be stricter. An even larger majority of Americans (62 pecent) expect the level of gun violence to increase over the next five years. So what can be done?

‘Family Annihilators’: When Conservative America’s Fetish for Guns and Patriarchy Turns Deadly

Every five days, a person murders his family. We see these killings so much more often in conservative states, where guns are easy to get and there’s a higher concentration of sexist, insecure men who expect their wives to behave.

The U.S. is a global outlier when it comes to gun deaths. in much of the world, violent, misogynist men cannot easily get their hands on deadly weapons. In the U.S., they can—and the Supreme Court may make that even easier.

Stop Gun Violence With a Reproductive Justice Approach

The U.S. just mourned the one-year anniversary of the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, Texas, where 19 children and two teachers were killed. Despite multiple armed guards on campus at the time of the shooting, and 376 law enforcement officers eventually descending upon the school, no one was able to stop the gunman. How did the state of Texas respond to public cries demanding school safety? With House Bill 3, currently awaiting Gov. Greg Abbott’s signature, which would require an armed officer on every school campus.

Our right to raise our child in a safe and supportive community has been stolen from us. More guns on campuses won’t make people safer, researchers say. These campus-carry laws highlight our elected officials’ inability to keep children safe—which is a core tenant of reproductive justice. By centering a reproductive justice approach, it is possible to establish safe and supportive communities to raise children with proactive systems and initiatives.

War on Women: Arson at Abortion Clinics Is up 100 Percent; Trump Is Guilty of Sexual Abuse and Defamation; Republicans Try to End No-Fault Divorce

U.S. patriarchal authoritarianism is on the rise, and democracy is on the decline. But day after day, we stay vigilant in our goals to dismantle patriarchy at every turn. The fight is far from over. We are watching, and we refuse to go back. This is the War on Women Report.

This month: Jane’s Due Process is now providing travel funding for Texas teens accessing abortion; states continue to face anti-LGBTQ legislative attacks; Donald Trump was found liable for sexually abusing and defaming E. Jean Carroll; Indiana’s medical licensing board fined Dr. Caitlin Bernard; and more.