As soon as next month, the U.S. Supreme Court is poised to deliver a setback in the work to protect survivors of domestic violence if it rules to allow abusers access to guns. But in Illinois, where state officials, advocates and other committed stakeholders have acted on myriad issues where the court has failed, we have another chance to lead.
This week presents such an opportunity. In the last days of the General Assembly’s spring session, state lawmakers can pass Karina’s Bill and put Illinois at the forefront of protecting the rights of survivors.
Karina’s Bill honors the memory of Karina Gonzalez and her 15-year-old daughter, Daniela, who were shot and killed by Gonzalez’s husband last summer, less than two weeks after Gonzalez obtained an order of protection against him.
With this bill, law enforcement will have the power to remove firearms from the homes of known abusers in cases in which domestic violence survivors obtain an order of protection against them. Under current law, this remains a voluntary process, offering little protection for those in fear for their lives when they seek out this remedy in the courts.
Gonzalez’s case is not an outlier. In fact, survivor advocates reported last week that Illinois is experiencing a dramatic escalation in calls for help to the state’s Domestic Violence Hotline. According to a report by The Network, a gender-based violence awareness advocacy group, the hotline saw a 27% increase in outreach in 2023 over the year before. Last year’s needs represented a stunning 90% increase when compared with pre-pandemic levels.
The surge included a 45% increase in requests for shelter over those in 2022, leading to a critical shortage of shelter options for survivors in Illinois, with the city of Chicago having no beds available for a third of the year in 2023, as reported by the Tribune.
We know the danger these survivors face is exponentially greater when their abusers are armed. The Network has found that the risk of intimate-partner homicide that survivors face increases 500% when an abuser has access to a gun.
The risk is particularly high in the period after survivors take the courageous step to leave a violent relationship and file an order of protection against their abuser, as was the case for Gonzalez and her daughter.
The facts set up dangerous territory for the hundreds of survivors — the majority of them women — as we await a decision in U.S. v. Rahimi from the conservative-majority court. They have the right to worry: In its last ruling on gun safety, the court dramatically expanded concealed carry laws.
If the past is precedent, the court’s decision could deliver a devastating blow to domestic violence survivors and their loved ones across the country.
There is no time to waste to pass Karina’s Bill to provide Illinois survivors the protection they need. Our state has risen to the challenge before, and it’s time for lawmakers to do it again.
Since the fall, our organization has worked tirelessly with The Network and more than 200 groups under the Illinois Gun Violence Prevention Coalition, led by Yolanda Androzzo, and the legislation’s sponsors, Sen. Celina Villanueva and Rep. Maura Hirschauer, to mobilize supporters and make nearly 7,000 contacts to Springfield, urging them to prioritize Karina’s Bill.
Our laws were not strong enough to stop the tragedy that took the lives of Gonzalez and her daughter, but we can better protect survivors of domestic violence in the future by removing firearms from the homes of known domestic violence offenders.
Illinois lawmakers can and must do better for survivors by passing Karina’s Bill. Our laws must work to protect survivors and their safety — not the rights of their abusers.
Kathleen Sances is president and CEO of the political action committee Gun Violence Prevention.
Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com.
