Domestic violence is a rampant issue in Houston, accounting for about 40% of deaths in the city, according to Lieutenant John Klafka from the Harris County Sheriff’s Department.
Gun violence is a major contributor to this statistic. In fact, the mere presence of a gun in a domestic violence situation increases the chances of lethality by five times, according to the National Institute of Health.
A local nonprofit, the Harris County Domestic Violence Coordinating Council, sought to address this problem in 2018 with the creation of their gun surrender program. Made in conjunction with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, this program was the first of its kind in Houston and among only 10 others in the state.
“One of the high lethality risks is does the offender have access to a weapon or do they have a weapon, and do they know how to use it?” HCDVCC Director of Communications Amy Smith said in a conversation with KPRC 2. “What we do know is that most domestic violence homicides occur by firearm. If there’s a firearm in the house. It is more likely that it could result in a homicide.”
Prior to the advent of HCDVCC’s program, there was no enforcement mechanism in place for when abusers were asked to surrender their guns after protective orders were filed against them.
With no government program in place, abusers were told to give their guns to a “friend” or “family member” during the years the protective order was active against them. This gave rise to a multitude of issues, as those friends and family members were not always reliable at keeping the guns away from their owners.
“Some may have given [their guns] to a friend or family member to hold while they had this protective order, but most of them just didn’t really do anything.” Smith said.
“So that’s why we gave them an opportunity to make sure they were complying with conditions of their protective order as well as the, you know, as well with the law.”
HCDVCC’s gun surrender program offers an alternate avenue in which these guns are surrendered to police officers at the sheriff’s office, who store the weapons for the duration of the protective order.
Officers believe that this program has played a role in decreasing lethality rates of domestic abuse in Houston, even if only in a small way.
“We’ve had many people that come in here that are scared — the victims are scared — and removing that gun removes some of the fear,” Lieutenant Klafka said to KPRC 2. “[This program] helps add a layer of protection.”
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