LANSING ? Today, Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed into law Senate Bills 471 and 528, and House Bill 4945, legislation to prevent people convicted of domestic violence misdemeanors from possessing or owning a firearm for eight years following their conviction, announced Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel.?

Attorney General Nessel testified before the Senate Civil Rights, Judiciary, and Public Safety Committee in support of the legislation in September of this year, after announcing her support for the House and Senate versions of the bills earlier this autumn.

?These new laws to keep guns out of the hands of violent domestic abusers will save lives,? said Nessel. ?Survivors of intimate partner violence live in constant fear, and in constant danger. Abusers with firearms are five times more likely to kill their female victims than abusers without firearms. My Department remains committed to protecting survivors of domestic violence, and that is why we aggressively advocated for these bills in the legislature.??

The Department of Attorney General?s Criminal Justice Bureau Chief, Danielle Hagaman-Clark spoke at the bill signing ceremony today. Hagaman-Clark is a prosecutor with 20 years? experience who has spent most of her career prosecuting domestic violence and sexual assault cases.?

?This is such a long-awaited step forward in protecting victims and survivors of domestic violence,? said Hagaman-Clark. ?This law is truly a common-sense measure that will change the futures of many survivors, who have endured a painful, violent past. I hope and believe that it will start to give survivors back some of their power, and their hope for the future.??

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