Measure aims to keep guns away from domestic abusers

A bill signed into law last month aiming to get guns out of the hands of domestic abusers is based on a process created by the Lafourche Sheriff’s Office. 

Authored by Sen. J.P. Morrell, D-New Orleans, Senate Bill 231 outlines a statewide procedure to track and monitor convicted domestic abusers to prevent them from possessing firearms and to assist in gun transfers. 

After being approved by the Legislature with little opposition, the bill was signed into law on May 23 and will take effect in October, the Sheriff’s Office said. The measure calls for statewide adoption of the Sheriff’s Office process by Jan. 1. 

“This is a momentous occasion not only for the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office but also for the fight against domestic violence,” said Sheriff Craig Webre. “We are proud to have our own process implemented statewide, but we are more excited that these laws and this process will ultimately help save lives.”

Although legislation was passed in 2014 prohibiting domestic abuse battery convicts from possessing guns or carrying concealed weapons, there were no teeth in the measure because the law didn’t specify how those people would be monitored. 

This presented an opportunity for the Sheriff’s Office to employ creativity and innovation to develop a mechanism to get firearms out of the wrong hands, said Lt. Valerie Martinez-Jordan of the Sheriff’s Office’s Social Services division. She created a process allowing deputies to identify those affected by the law, notify them and assisting with gun transfers. 

“I’m glad we’re finally taking some steps to fix that,” Martinez-Jordan said. 

Those convicted of domestic abuse battery would be prohibited from possessing a gun for 10 years after completing their sentence, probation, parole or suspension of sentence. After that time expires, the federal government enforces the law, Martinez-Jordan said. 

“We would make contact with them, and some of them would divest their guns to our agency to hold them until they could find a qualified third-party recipient or make a lawful sale or donation,” Martinez-Jordan said. 

The process, which was nearly a decade in the making, required the cooperation of the 17th Judicial District, District Attorney’s Office, municipal courts and the Clerk of Court's Office to ensure all requirements were met for the firearm prohibition to take effect, the Sheriff’s Office said. 

Using an innovative computer tracking system, the Sheriff’s Office monitors all prohibited gun possessors in its internal database, which is shared by other law enforcement agencies in the parish, Webre said. 

“Anytime a law enforcement officer in Lafourche Parish encounters one of these individuals, they will immediately know the individual is prohibited from possessing firearms,” the sheriff said. “If any firearms are discovered in that person’s possession during the course of the investigation, they can be charged accordingly.” 

Under the new law, when a person is convicted of domestic abuse battery or battery of a dating partner, a judge transfers all firearms and suspends concealed handgun permits.

The domestic violence convict must state in court or complete an affidavit listing the number of firearms in his or her possession, the serial number of each firearm and the location of the firearms. The person then has 48 hours to transfer the firearms to the sheriff’s office. 

The sheriff of each parish is responsible for overseeing the transfers. If a firearm is transferred to a third party, the sheriff’s office informs the third party that giving the gun back to the convict before he is allowed to possess the gun will result in criminal charges. 

Martinez-Jordan said she was inspired by a similar program in King County, Wash. Although the law involves the transfer of firearms, the NRA has remained neutral on the measure. 

“They didn’t contest it, so we were very fortunate in that regard,” she said. “I absolutely stand behind the Second Amendment, but if an individual is prohibited by their own acts, then they no longer have that right to bear arms. This was due to their own behavior.” 

Over the coming months, the Sheriff’s Office will join the Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement to offer training on the process throughout the state, Martinez-Jordan said. 

“We are on the cutting edge of the movement for domestic violence and working with victims,” she said. “I’m very proud of this agency in what we do. We always want to make a difference. It would not be possible if we didn’t have a sheriff who did not believe in that same ideal. I’m very excited to see this brainchild come to life.” 

Since the 2014 legislation took effect, there have been no shootings in Lafourche Parish by anyone not allowed to possess a firearm due to a domestic abuse onviction, the Sheriff’s Office said. 

--Staff Writer Dan Copp can be reached at 857-2202 or at dan.copp@houmatoday.com. Follow him on Twitter@DanVCopp.