U.S. Attorney Scott Brady named to federal domestic violence study group
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There will be a voice from Western Pennsylvania voice on a new federal group that aims to keep guns away from those convicted of domestic abuse.
U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania Scott W. Brady was named to the Domestic Violence Working Group by U.S. Attorney General William P. Barr.
Brady, who grew up in Mercer County, will be one of nine U.S. Attorneys in the group.
“Every day, at least three women in the United States are murdered by their husband or boyfriend,” Brady said in a statement. “With domestic violence being the leading cause of injury to women, this working group will bring federal resources to a nationwide problem.”
Convicted felons and those subject to domestic violence protective orders are already banned by federal law from possessing firearms. In forming the group, Barr noted how those with a history of domestic violence are more likely to commit homicide and that research shows abusers who have access to a gun are more likely to kill their partners.
One study cited by Barr suggests that more than half of the country’s mass shootings are cases of extreme domestic violence.
Keeping guns out of the hands of abusers would reduce violence in the country, Barr said, but differences in federal and state laws and definitions of domestic violence pose challenges to doing that.
The new group will share how best to handle domestic abuse cases and offer legal analysis and guidance for prosecutors, Barr said.