fully closing the “boyfriend loophole”
Fully close the boyfriend loophole in gun laws.
Occurrences
Evidence
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Section 12005 amended 18 U.S.C. 921(a)(33)(A)(ii) to include a misdemeanor domestic-violence offense committed by a person with a current or recent former dating relationship with the victim.
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The same section says the amendments do not apply to convictions entered before enactment, and allows restoration for a single dating-relationship misdemeanor domestic-violence conviction after 5 years if no later disqualifying offense occurs.
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The current definition of misdemeanor crime of domestic violence includes offenses committed by a person who has a current or recent former dating relationship with the victim; the dating-relationship provision includes the 5-year limitation for a single conviction.
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18 U.S.C. 922(g)(8) still applies to persons subject to qualifying court orders restraining conduct toward an intimate partner or child of such intimate partner or person.
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18 U.S.C. 921(a)(32) defines intimate partner as a spouse, former spouse, co-parent, or cohabitant/former cohabitant; dating partners are added separately only for misdemeanor domestic-violence convictions.
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Roll Call 299 on S. 2938 passed 234-193. The vote table lists Clark (MA), Democratic, Massachusetts, voting Yea.
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Congress.gov summarizes H.R.1494 as prohibiting dating partners convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence or subject to certain restraining orders from receiving, possessing, shipping, or transporting firearms; the tracker status is Introduced, with latest House subcommittee referral on 2021-05-18.
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Congress.gov lists H.R.1620 as Passed House on 2021-03-17 by 244-172 and later referred in the Senate Judiciary Committee on 2022-05-24; the summary says the bill made changes to federal firearms laws.
Assessments
Federal law was changed in 2022 to cover current or recent former dating partners for misdemeanor domestic-violence convictions, and Clark voted for the enacted Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. But the promise was to fully close the loophole, and the enacted law remains limited: it is prospective, has a five-year restoration rule for a single qualifying dating-relationship conviction, and the protective-order firearm prohibition still uses the narrower intimate-partner definition rather than fully covering dating partners. A broader approach that would have covered restraining orders did not become law. This supports partial delivery, not full fulfillment.