Operation Safe Families: Protecting Families From Gun Violence

Operation Safe Families is a new initiative to fight domestic violence in the Northern District of Alabama. Through Operation Safe Families, the U.S. Attorney’s Office will work with federal, state, and local law enforcement to use federal firearm laws to combat domestic violence.  

The law doesn’t prevent abusers from merely buying guns. It also prohibits abusers from having guns – owning them, borrowing them, storing them, carrying them, or shooting them.

Nearly 100 domestic violence assaults are reported to law enforcement each day in Alabama, with many more occurring in quiet, hushed terror.

1 out of 10 homicides are committed by an intimate partner.

An abuser’s access to firearms is the single greatest risk factor for intimate partner homicide. When an abuser has access to a firearm, the likelihood of the victim being killed increases 500%.

Often victims feel threatened from seeking protection from the law.  But, there are federal laws that we are using to take the threat of violence away from domestic abusers. By going after their guns, we are able to pursue a conviction – often without the need for the victim’s testimony.

If someone has a felony conviction, a misdemeanor domestic violence conviction, or an active protection from abuse order against them, then they are prohibited by federal law from having a gun.

Safer homes equal safer neighborhoods for everyone.

The feds are committed to doing their part to reduce the toll of domestic violence.  For more help, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE.