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California Assembly Committee Approves Online Domestic Violence Offender Database Bill

California State Assembly Public Safety Committee approved legislation that would create an online database of domestic violence offenders. State Assemblywoman Fiona Ma authored AB 1771, the Domestic Violence Prevention and Right to Know Act of 2008 (see PDF).

State Assemblywoman Ma, head of the Assembly Select Committee on Domestic Violence, told the California Chronicle, “AB 1771 will provide people with access to information that is already public. Domestic violence has no place in our society and this bill will empower people to avoid potentially abusive relationships.”

The bill would also allow victims to obtain restraining orders using prior convictions and would require California courts to provide information about domestic violence convictions. A fact sheet of the bill states that 110 women and 24 men were murdered by their partners in 2006.

Alexis Moore, survivor of domestic violence, executive director of Survivors in Action, and sponsor or the bill, said, “If I had known that my abuser had a domestic violence conviction prior to our relationship, it may have saved me from permanent nerve damage.”

Sources:

California Chronicle 04/08/08; Fact Sheet Assembly Bill 1771; Assembly Bill 1771; Assemblywoman Fiona Ma's Press Release 04/07/08; Alexis Moore

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