Key Committee Holds Hearing on Wyden, Blumenthal Legislation to Protect Domestic Abuse Survivors From Gun Violence

Hearing

The U.S. Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution today held a hearing on the Lori Jackson -- Nicolette Elias Domestic Violence Survivor Protection Act, legislation introduced by U.S. Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., to protect domestic violence survivors from gun violence.

The bill is named for two women who were both shot and killed by their abusive, estranged partners even after securing temporary restraining orders: Lori Jackson, from Oxford, Connecticut; and Nicolette Elias from Portland, Oregon.

"No one should have to endure what Nicolette's family has endured. I wish I could tell this committee that few people know what they've been through, but the truth is that many people know exactly what they've been through. Each year in this country, more than 600 women are shot to death by an intimate partner," Wyden said at the hearing. "Congress has a moral obligation to do something about it. It is long past time to eliminate the loopholes that leave women in the crosshairs of violent spouses and partners with guns."

The bill introduced in June 2021 includes a measure Blumenthal has previously introduced to close loopholes that allow domestic abusers to legally obtain weapons. The legislation would also establish a federal grant program to support state and local efforts to keep firearms out of the hands of domestic abusers while they are subject to temporary or emergency restraining orders.

Nicolette Elias was a 46-year-old Portland mother of two young daughters who for years sought and secured restraining orders and temporary stalking orders against her estranged and abusive ex-husband. Despite all her attempts to protect herself and her daughters from a man who frequently threatened them and had access to firearms, in 2014, Nicolette was murdered by her former spouse in front of their children with a handgun that he refused to relinquish. He then forced their daughters out of the home, past their mother's body, and kidnapped them, taking them to his own home. There, later that day, he took his own life, shooting himself in the chest in front of the police.

"When it came to trying to protect her children and herself, Nicolette did everything right. She used every available tool. Going through the court system. Presenting evidence and telling her story -- as difficult as it must have been -- to get restraining orders," Wyden said. "She did her part, and then the government failed her. The loopholes have got to close. If Congress had passed this legislation prior to November 2014, Nicolette might still be with us today, raising her teenage daughters."

Click here for more information on the legislation.

Wyden's remarks as prepared for today's Constitution Subcommittee hearing

Chairman Blumenthal, thank you for holding this vitally important hearing and for giving me an opportunity to join the committee for a few minutes this afternoon.

In a moment I'll speak about the bill Senator Blumenthal and I introduced last year. First let me tell you a little about Nicolette Elias.

Nicolette, or Nikki as she was called, was a Portlander. She worked for several years at Portland State University. She had moved to Oregon with her family in 2008. She was close with family and was a loving, protective mother to two young daughters.

On November 10, 2014, she was murdered by her abusive ex-husband -- shot in her home in front of her children.

At the time, Nicolette's ex-husband was under a temporary emergency restraining order.

She used the court system to the best of her ability to protect herself and her daughters. She reported that he had been physically and sexually abusive, and that he handled guns out in the open, in front of their kids. He had left her threatening messages. In the months before she was killed, she was fearful enough of what he might do that she worked out emergency safety plans with friends and family members.

Despite the restraining order, there was no legal requirement to separate Nicolette's ex-husband from his guns. What happened next is a tragedy.

On that Monday morning in November, he took a gun to Nicolette's house in Southwest Portland and shot her seven times. Then he took his daughters, seven and eight years old, to his home. When police arrived later that day, he walked into the backyard and took his own life.

No one should have to endure what Nicolette's family has endured. I wish I could tell this committee that few people know what they've been through, but the truth is that many people know exactly what they've been through. Each year in this country, more than 600 women are shot to death by an intimate partner.

Six … hundred … women.

Congress has a moral obligation to do something about it. It is long past time to eliminate the loopholes that leave women in the crosshairs of violent spouses and partners with guns.

That's why Senator Blumenthal and I introduced the Lori Jackson -- Nicolette Elias Domestic Violence Survivor Protection Act. We want to get at the dangerous loopholes -- which is a proposition that even the vast majority of gun owners support.

When it came to trying to protect her children and herself, Nicolette did everything right. She used every available tool. Going through the court system. Presenting evidence and telling her story -- as difficult as it must have been -- to get restraining orders.

She did her part, and then the government failed her.

The loopholes have got to close.

If Congress had passed this legislation prior to November 2014, Nicolette might still be with us today, raising her teenage daughters.

It's been said that the gun safety debate ended for good when Congress did nothing in response to the Sandy Hook massacre. Senator Blumenthal and I cannot accept that. Every woman, man and child deserves to feel safe at home, at work, at school, and in public. Passing our legislation, the Lori Jackson -- Nicolette Elias Domestic Violence Survivor Protection Act, ought to be a no-brainer that brings the two sides together.

I'm thankful to be working with Senator Blumenthal on this issue, and again I thank the committee for its time this afternoon.

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