Many of the bills have already cleared the Senate on bipartisan votes. Adoption by the House Criminal Justice Committee brings the legislation a step closer to the governor’s desk.
Democratic Senator Stephanie Chang says these bills will help protect domestic violence survivors once abusers have been released from the jurisdiction of the criminal justice system.
“Individuals convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence will be prohibited from having a gun for eight years after the completion of their sentence.”
There was some debate over whether the bills would potentially treat people convicted of lesser offenses more harshly than people convicted of felonies.