S. 2196: Strengthening Protections for Domestic Violence and Stalking Survivors Act of 2025

This bill extends federal restrictions on the receipt, possession, shipment, and transportation of firearms and ammunition to new types of stalking and domestic violence offenders.

Specifically, the bill extends federal firearms-related restrictions to individuals who are convicted of a misdemeanor crime of stalking. The term misdemeanor crime of stalking means a federal, state, tribal, or local offense involving harassment, intimidation, or surveillance that (1) causes emotional distress; or (2) places a person in reasonable fear of harm to themselves, an immediate family member, a current or former cohabitant, an intimate partner, or a pet.

Additionally, the bill extends federal firearms-related restrictions to individuals who are subject to a domestic violence protection order that restrains them from harassing, stalking, or threatening a current or former dating partner (regardless of when the relationship occurred) or an individual similarly situated to a spouse. Currently, the restrictions only apply if the domestic violence protection order restrains the individual from harassing, stalking, or threatening a co-parent, a current or former spouse, or a current or former cohabitant.

Written by the Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress.