Keeping Guns Out of the Hands of Abusers: Handgun Purchases and Restraining Orders

Persons under certain domestic violence restraining orders are prohibited by federal law from purchasing and possessing a firearm. We used administrative data from California to link 794426 restraining orders with 1388724 handgun purchase applications. We found that restrained persons were not a less law-abiding group in general, but they appeared to be repeatedly or serially abusive to intimate partners, and their handgun purchase rates were highest after their restraining orders expired.