Fix the law to protect women

On March 21, 2012, Lindsay Marie Nichols left her office in Waterloo and drove 15 miles to her new boyfriend's home in Jesup. Not far behind, Timothy Roses, 44, followed in a rental truck with out-of-state plates.

For several months, Roses had been in a relationship with 22-year-old Lindsay. When she broke things off in February, Roses decided to get revenge.

He pulled into the driveway behind Lindsay, approached her car, and ordered her to get in his truck. When she refused, he pulled out a semi-automatic pistol and shot and killed her. He then turned the gun on himself.

As an attorney with the Iowa Coalition Against Domestic Violence, I am forced to confront tragic deaths like Lindsay's all too often. The disheartening numbers don't lie: Women in the United States are 11 times more likely to be killed by a gun than women in other developed countries. Further, over half of this shocking death toll comes at the hands of domestic partners or family members.

This works out, on average, to 48 women murdered by domestic abusers with guns every month - more than with all other weapons combined. When we see innocent woman after innocent woman gunned down by abusive boyfriends and husbands, it becomes clear how badly our laws fail to protect our women.

Today, the Senate will hold a hearing, 'Violence Against Women Act Next Steps: Protecting Women from Gun Violence.” The hearing will address loopholes in Federal law that allow convicted stalkers and abusers to own and use guns. I will be traveling to Washington for the hearing, advocating for immediate federal action to keep women safe.

Currently, federal law does little to prevent abusers convicted of stalking misdemeanors from owning guns. A recent study of 10 major cities revealed that nearly 90 percent of attempted murders of women involved at least one case of stalking in the previous year, a reality which renders the lack of federal law in this area all-the-more disheartening.

Although federal law restricts gun ownership by some convicted of domestic violence misdemeanors or subject to restraining orders, such prohibitions only apply to spouses, parents of the victims' children, current or former cohabiters and parent or guardians. Abusive 'dating partners” - as defined by the Violence Against Women Act - have no federal constraint on gun ownership.

Fortunately, Senator Amy Klobuchar has written a bill - the Protecting Domestic Violence and Stalking Victims Act of 2013 - which would prohibit gun ownership by convicted stalkers and abusive dating partners. I urge senators Harkin and Grassley - as well as the rest of Congress - to co-sponsor Senator Klobuchar's bill immediately.

The safety of our nation's women is not a partisan issue, nor is it one that can be delayed. Each day that Congress fails to close these legal loopholes is one day too late for another innocent woman.

' Elizabeth Albright-Battles is an attorney with the Iowa Coalition Against Domestic Violence, a state level non-profit organization responding to the needs of battered women, men and children in Iowa. To learn more, visit www.icadv.org. Comments: liza@icadv.org.