Ryan Whalen is reporting for State of Politics under federal legislation people convicted of domestic violence have been banned from possessing guns, if they were married, lived with, or shared a child with the person they committed the crime against. However, advocates for survivors point out there is a significant loophole in that law. "The ‘if I can't have her, nobody can’ attitude that we see so often with abusers can certainly apply to people in a dating relationship," said YWCA of Niagara vice president of programs, Mary Brennan-Taylor. Brennan-Taylor said that while the law did not account for abusers in a romantic relationship who did not meet one of the three stipulations, the federal gun package signed recently by the president would instead only require a victim to prove the relationship. "This is a very positive thing for women across the country who are in a life-threatening situation day in and day out and currently have no protections," Brennan-Taylor said. Currently 31 states prohibit convicted domestic abusers from having guns and the law in New York does close the "boyfriend loophole." Brennan-Taylor said the federal action is still important and welcomed. "This is going to make it nationwide and save thousands of lives," she said. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 1,000 women are killed by their abusers with a gun every year and about half of those victims are not married to the killer. Read the full story at nystateofpolitics [dot] com.