Twenty-two percent of women and 7 percent of men have reported being assaulted by an intimate partner in their lifetime. Among female victims of intimate partner violence (IPV), 4 percent have reported being threatened with a gun by an intimate partner, and 1 percent sustained firearm injuries in these assaults. In 2000, approximately 40 percent of female homicide victims ages 15-50 were killed by either a current or former intimate partner. In 57 percent of these cases, the perpetrator used a gun. For every female killed by a stranger, four women were murdered by intimate partners with the use of a gun. Among male victims 15-50 years old, 3 percent were killed by either a current or former intimate partner. Half of these male homicide victims were killed with a gun. Compared to homes without guns, the presence of guns in the home is associated with a threefold increased homicide risk within the home. The risk connected to gun ownership increases to eightfold when the offender is an intimate partner or relative of the victim; and it is 20 times higher when previous domestic violence existed. Under Federal law established by the Lautenberg Amendment (1996) of the 1994 Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, an individual convicted of a domestic violence misdemeanor is prohibited from purchasing a firearm. State laws vary with regard to countering the use of firearms in IPV. Some States' laws do not address the issue and rely exclusively on Federal law; other States have extensive regulatory systems that far exceed Federal law; and other State laws extend restrictions slightly beyond Federal protections. State laws that address the issue are in one of three categories: those that permit judges to order batterers to surrender their firearms through court protective orders; those that allow police officers to seize guns when responding to domestic violence calls; and those that prohibit people with domestic violence convictions from obtaining a permit to carry concealed firearms. Recent research has shown that laws to restrict firearm access for batterers subject to restraining orders are associated with an 11-percent reduction in rates of intimate partner homicide of women; however, such laws are only effective in reducing intimate partner homicides in States that have implemented a system to screen potential firearms purchasers for the existence of restraining orders against them. 14 references and a listing of 10 annotated resources