Five years after Lori Jackson was fatally shot by her husband, her parents continue to push for Congress to pass legislation that they believe could have saved their daughter’s life.
Merry Jackson spoke alongside Sen. Richard Blumenthal in Hartford Monday in support of the Lori Jackson Domestic Violence Survivor Protection Act. That’s a proposal Democrats want included as a provision of the federal Violence Against Women Act (VAWA).
The provision would prevent anyone under a protective order, regardless of the type, from buying a gun in any state. VAWA has yet to be reauthorized after expiring in February, but it was reintroduced to the Senate last week by all 47 Democrats.
“As a mom who lost a daughter, if we could save a life, it would mean so much to me because you don’t realize what a family goes through when something like this happens,” said Jackson, who also was shot multiple times by her daughter’s husband. “It doesn’t go away, it’s with you forever.”
Lori Jackson had a temporary restraining order against her husband, but police couldn’t serve it because he’d left the state. And even with a temporary order, he still was able to buy a gun. While hiding out in Virginia, that’s exactly what he did.
The day before the hearing for a permanent restraining order, Jackson’s husband came back to Connecticut. He shot and killed her and wounded her mother.
“This provision is really core to protecting women who are victims and survivors of domestic violence,” said Blumenthal, a Democrat. “There’s no excuse for delaying or waiting.”
VAWA does not have any Republican support within the Senate, according to Blumenthal. It became law in 1994 and has been reauthorized three times, most recently in 2013.
As the law currently stands, temporary protective orders do not prevent domestic abusers from buying and possessing firearms. According to the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, the time that directly follows the issuance of such an order is the most dangerous for victims of domestic violence.
