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This is Josh Sharfstein.

Today, we return to guns and the courts. I speak with Kelly Roscombe, the director

of law and policy for the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions. We discuss a recent

decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit to allow a man subject to a domestic

violence restraining order to keep his guns.

Let's listen.

Kelly Roscombe, thank you so much for joining me in public health on call.

Before we get into the legal side of the story, I want to start with the public health side of this issue.

What are we talking about here? Well, what we're talking about here are people who commit

domestic violence against their intimate partners and their families, having access to firearms.

Over half of women murdered in the United States

are murdered by an intimate partner. And nearly half of those are done using firearms.

And so because of this serious risk of lethal violence for people involved in intimate partner violence,

a number of states have policies related to guns. Is that right? Yes, absolutely. Approximately

39 states and the District of Columbia have laws prohibiting people who are subject to domestic violence protection orders from

purchasing or possessing firearms. Additionally, federal law prohibits persons who are subject to

domestic violence protective orders from purchasing or possessing firearms.

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