Taking Aim at Family Violence

July 4, 2024

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The SMU Dedman School of Law recently published “Taking Aim at Family Violence: A Report on the Dallas County Gun Surrender Program.”

Written by students Laura Choi, Rachel Elkin, and Monica Harasim, the report explores the effectiveness of the Dallas County Gun Surrender Program. Launched in May 2015, the program aims to provide a safe and secure way for domestic violence offenders to surrender any guns they own.

According to the report, the program was created in response to a series of domestic violence-related murders committed with guns in Dallas County. Since its launch, the program has collected 60 guns in two a years–a fraction of the 1,600 guns originally expected to be collected in that time.

Addressing this discrepancy, the report recommends the Dallas County Gun Surrender Program to take the following actions:

• Implementing a Memorandum of Understanding between community stakeholders
• Offering training for Dallas County judges on how to best utilize the Program
• Creating an office and staffŽ dedicated specifically to Program administration
• Securing additional Program funding to ensure long-term viability
• Increasing accountability for non-compliant oŽffenders
• Increasing community awareness of the Program
• Considering collaboration with other community advocates, including probation, U.S. Attorney’s Office, and batterer intervention programs.

To view the full report, click here.