In the coming U.S. Supreme Court session, justices will hear arguments against a law that prevents people with domestic violence restraining orders from possessing guns. Native advocates for domestic violence survivors are worried a decision in favor of gun owners will jeopardize the lives of women, who are, by far, the most frequent victims of domestic violence. For Domestic Violence Awareness Month and to mark the 29th anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act, we’ll find out what actions help—and hurt—potential domestic violence victims.

GUESTS

Shawn Partridge (Mvskoke), director of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation’s Center for Victim Services (formerly known as the Family Violence Prevention Program)

Melody Ybarra (enrolled member of Apache Tribe of Oklahoma), domestic violence advocate with the Citizen Potawatomi Nation’s House of Hope 

Dayna Schultz (Native Hawaiian), executive director and founding member of Pouhana O Nā Wāhine

Kathy Gibson (member of the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes of Duck Valley), rural project coordinator for the Napuha Kha Nii Programs, the domestic violence and sexual assault programs for the Shoshone-Paiute tribes on the Duck Valley Indian Reservation 

Jeana Lungwitz, clinical professor in the Domestic Violence Clinic at the University of Texas School of Law