Katz Muhl Passes Major Gun Safety Reforms to Get Firearms Out of the Hands of Abusers

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — State Rep. Tracy Katz Muhl, D-Northbrook, delivered major gun safety reforms to get guns out of the hands of domestic abusers Tuesday, creating new protections to remove firearms and ammunition from individuals who are the subject of protection orders.

“When a person is subject to an order of protection, that person should clearly not have access to firearms,” Katz Muhl said. “I am proud that the Illinois General Assembly passed this measure with bipartisan votes in both chambers, showing tremendous progress and understanding that this is a common sense solution we can all agree on.”

House Bill 4144, also referred to as Karina’s Bill, aims to break the toxic combination of guns and domestic violence by strengthening protection orders and empowering judges to remove guns from abusers. After a judge issues a protection order for domestic violence, law enforcement would be required to remove firearms from the subject of the order within 96 hours of a judge’s order.

The bill is named in memory of Karina Gonzalez, who along with her teenage daughter Daniela was murdered by an abuser who should have never had access to a firearm. Even though Gonzalez had a protection order against her abuser, he was not made to surrender his guns. Their story illustrates the desperate necessity of doing better when it comes to protecting victims of domestic violence from their abusers.

National statistics show that the presence of a gun in a home where domestic abuse occurs increases the risk of homicide by 500%.

“As a former regional legislative leader for Moms Demand Action Illinois and a longtime gun violence prevention volunteer, I know how much time and heart all the domestic violence and gun violence prevention advocates put into this bill,” Katz Muhl said. “I want to congratulate all of them and the bill’s chief sponsors, Representative Maura Hirschauer and Senator Celina Villanueva. I’m proud to have played a role in the passage of this long overdue and meaningful legislation that will undoubtedly save lives.”