Kyrsten Sinema Does One (1) Good Thing, Is Reportedly the Reason ‘Boyfriend Loophole’ Closure Is Included in Bipartisan Gun Control Bill

This weekend, the Senate announced it had reached a deal on a long-overdue bipartisan gun reform bill. In order to get enough Republicans on board to defeat a filibuster, the bill is a dramatically watered-down version of what most reasonable people want from Congress. Especially infuriating is the fact that the bill focuses more on inaccurate and harmful links between mental illness and violence than it does on guns themselves, but the bill does have a few provisions that will undeniably save lives. Probably the most meaningful part of the bill is the closure of the so-called “boyfriend loophole” or “intimate partner loophole,” which will prohibit all perpetrators of domestic and partner violence from buying guns. And apparently, we have Kyrsten Sinema to thank for that.

Right now, convicted perpetrators of domestic violence are barred from buying guns on a federal level, but that only applies to spousal abuse, requiring the victim and their abuser to be married, living together, or sharing a child together. Closing the “boyfriend loophole” would expand the definitions of partner violence in incredibly necessary ways.

As we’ve seen time and time and time and time and time again, there’s probably no more consistent throughline in instances of mass gun violence than the perpetrators’ history of violence against women, especially romantic partners.

Studies have shown that there is no greater indicator of future violence than a domestic violence conviction. 54% of mass shootings involve partner or family violence, with the shooter killing or injuring a partner or family member. Also, nearly half of all women killed in the U.S. are killed by a current or former intimate partner and over half of intimate partner murders are committed with a gun. When an abuser has access to a gun, their victim’s chance of being murdered increases by 500%.

Closing this loophole and barring perpetrators of intimate partner violence from buying guns seems like such an obvious move if we want to prevent mass violence—and, of course, possibly save the lives of millions of women in abusive relationships. According to HuffPost, which talked with a spokesperson for Kyrsten Sinema and another source familiar with the negotiations, it was Sinema who proposed the provision be included in the bill’s framework.

Closing this loophole is not a perfect fix. To start with, we still need law enforcement and the judicial system to take domestic violence, harassment, and stalking more seriously and to make it easier for victims to come forward and get support. But it is an essential step forward.

Sinema has done so much during her time in office to harm women and other vulnerable groups. This does absolutely nothing to undo or override all of that harm, but I imagine the act of repeatedly selling out your own constituents should earn you some favors to cash in. So at least she’s finally decided to use her status as an honorary Republican to do one single good thing.

I asked Cornyn why Republicans agreed to close boyfriend loophole in the first place, given their long-standing objections (in VAWA talks). He said because it’s “important to our Democratic colleagues.” Meaning, Sinema https://t.co/3Agdlt1jNV

— Igor Bobic (@igorbobic) June 15, 2022

(via HuffPost, image: J. Scott Applewhite-Pool/Getty Images)