Gabby Giffords unveils new gun control policy designed for women

Gifford made the first stop of her “Protect All Women” tour at the University of Southern Maine, where she met with a group of women to discuss how to “bring about action on stronger laws and better implementation of current laws that help make women and their families safer from gun violence,” according to a post Giffords’ Facebook page.

Women in the United States are 11 times more likely to be murdered by a gun than women in comparable high-income countries worldwide, according to the report “Gun Laws and Violence Against Women” published by Mayors Against Illegal Guns, a gun control initiative spearheaded by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

The report also found that more than half (54 percent) of all women killed with guns in 2011 died at the hands of family members or intimate partners; also, between 2009-2013, nearly two-thirds (57 percent) of mass shootings involved domestic violence. Although the report also found that in states requiring a background check before handgun sales, 38 percent less women were shot to death by intimate partners; meanwhile, 6.6 million guns that transferred ownership in 2012 through private sales.

The gun control debate is one of the most contentious political discussions in America, but Portland Police Chief Mike Sauschuck believes that if the discussion can be framed in terms of domestic abuse and womens’ safety, then the conversation can move forward with all sides conscientious of the gravity of the situation.

“The only way to get this conversation started, to get your foot in the door… is with the domestic violence approach,” said Sauschuck, according to the AP. “Because it’s that important and politicians are that scared of it. Because they should be.”