Strengthening Protections for Domestic Violence and Stalking Survivors Act of 2025
Sponsored By: Representative Dingell, Debbie [D-MI-6]
Introduced
Summary
Would expand who counts as an "intimate partner" and create a federal misdemeanor stalking offense. The bill would broaden domestic-violence definitions to cover dating and similar relationships and add a new federal misdemeanor for stalking that can affect firearm rights.
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- Families and survivors: It would explicitly cover current and former dating partners and people similarly situated to a spouse, plus related people like parents, guardians, immediate family, co-residents, and even pets or service animals as potential targets of stalking or related harms.
- People charged with stalking or misdemeanor domestic violence: It would define a "misdemeanor crime of stalking" as a course of harassment, intimidation, or surveillance that causes reasonable fear or emotional distress. Convictions would count for these federal rules only if the person had counsel or knowingly waived counsel and if there was a jury trial or a guilty plea with waiver.
- Firearm owners and courts: It would add the new misdemeanor stalking offense to the federal firearm-disqualification rules in 18 U.S.C. 922 and clarify that expunged, set-aside, pardoned, or civil-rights-restored convictions do not disqualify someone unless the restoration expressly prohibits firearm-related rights.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
2 provisions identified: 0 benefits, 0 costs, 2 mixed.
Broader intimate partner and dating rules
The bill would widen who counts as an intimate partner. It would include current or former dating partners and people treated like a spouse under State or Tribal law. It would also treat someone dating the victim’s parent or guardian as covered for domestic-violence cases. The bill would replace "dating relationship" with a "continuing serious relationship" standard. These changes would affect who could be barred from having a gun after a qualifying conviction. The changes would take effect upon enactment.
Gun limits after misdemeanor stalking
This bill would define a "misdemeanor crime of stalking." It would bar gun transfers and possession for people with such convictions. The offense must involve repeated harassment, intimidation, or surveillance. It must cause fear for someone’s safety or emotional distress, including for family, co-residents, intimate partners, or pets or service animals. A conviction would count only if the person had a lawyer or knowingly waived that right. If entitled to a jury, there must be a jury or a knowing waiver. Expunged, set-aside, pardoned, or civil-rights-restored convictions would not count unless firearm limits were kept. The change would take effect upon enactment.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Dingell, Debbie [D-MI-6]
MI • D
Cosponsors
Rep. Fitzpatrick, Brian K. [R-PA-1]
PA • R
Sponsored 6/26/2025
Rep. Beyer, Donald S. [D-VA-8]
VA • D
Sponsored 6/30/2025
Rep. Scanlon, Mary Gay [D-PA-5]
PA • D
Sponsored 6/30/2025
Rep. Salinas, Andrea [D-OR-6]
OR • D
Sponsored 7/2/2025
Rep. Morelle, Joseph D. [D-NY-25]
NY • D
Sponsored 7/2/2025
Elfreth
MD • D
Sponsored 7/29/2025
Rep. Tlaib, Rashida [D-MI-12]
MI • D
Sponsored 10/17/2025
Rep. Goldman, Daniel S. [D-NY-10]
NY • D
Sponsored 12/26/2025
Rep. Min, Dave [D-CA-47]
CA • D
Sponsored 3/3/2026
Rep. Landsman, Greg [D-OH-1]
OH • D
Sponsored 3/9/2026
Rep. Scholten, Hillary J. [D-MI-3]
MI • D
Sponsored 3/16/2026
Kennedy (NY)
NY • D
Sponsored 4/20/2026
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
View on Congress.gov