On Mother’s Day in 2023, a family’s life in the Little Village neighborhood in Chicago was forever altered.
A domestic violence incident ended in the death of Karina Gonzalez and her 15-year-old daughter, Daniela. Karina’s son, Manny Alvarez, is a survivor of the violence.
The devastating events spurred the creation of Karina’s Law or House Bill 4144. Survivor Manny Alvarez lobbied for the bill, which introduces new protections for victims of domestic abuse.
“Protecting victims of domestic violence is a cause that’s taking a giant leap forward today,” said Governor JB Pritzker in a press release. “Karina’s law will protect survivors of domestic violence and give them the comfort of knowing their abuser will not have easy access to firearms.”
“We owe it to Karina and Daniela — to Manny — and to all the victims and their families, to continue building all the support and protection that we can,” Pritzer added.
What does Karina’s Law change?
Karina’s Law requires local law enforcement agencies to take away firearms from anyone whose Firearm Owner Identification (FOID) card has been revoked after a restraining order is filed.
In addition, the firearm (along with firearm parts and ids and licenses) must be removed within 96 hours following the issuing of a search warrant.
Karina Gonzalez had been granted an order of protection against her husband weeks before the deadly incident, but he had been allowed to keep his firearms. The law aims to prevent a situation like this from happening again.
“Every day, the Illinois State Police and our partners in local police and sheriffs departments are pushing as hard as we can to get guns away from violent individuals,” said Illinois State Police Director Brendan F. Kelly in a press release from the governor’s office.
“Karina’s Law will be an important new tool to help us disrupt domestic violence that too often ends with a gun.”
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