25 signatures reached
To: State Legislators & Governors, U.S. Congress, State Criminal Record Agencies, FCRA Regulators, Local Law Enforcement and Courts, and Public and Private Background Check Companies
End the Silence: Make Protection Order Violations Public and Enforceable
What Needs to Happen
- Require Protection Order Violations to Be Included in Standard Background Checks
- State and federal background check systems should be updated to ensure that violations of protection orders appear alongside other relevant criminal records.
- State and federal background check systems should be updated to ensure that violations of protection orders appear alongside other relevant criminal records.
- Strengthen Legal Consequences for Protection Order Violations
- These violations must carry more significant legal weight, ensuring that repeat offenders cannot exploit legal loopholes.
- These violations must carry more significant legal weight, ensuring that repeat offenders cannot exploit legal loopholes.
- Improve Data Sharing and Reporting Across Agencies
- Law enforcement, courts, and background check providers must coordinate to ensure protection order violations are properly recorded and accessible.
- Law enforcement, courts, and background check providers must coordinate to ensure protection order violations are properly recorded and accessible.
- Enhance Child Custody and Family Court Protections
- Family courts should be required to consider protection order violations when determining custody and visitation rights to prevent placing children in dangerous situations.
- Family courts should be required to consider protection order violations when determining custody and visitation rights to prevent placing children in dangerous situations.
Why is this important?
I am writing to urge you to take immediate action to close a critical gap in our justice system: the failure to include protection order violations in standard criminal background checks. This oversight allows individuals with a history of violating protective orders to secure jobs, housing, and even custody or visitation rights without accountability, putting survivors and their children at risk.
Protection orders exist to shield survivors of domestic violence, stalking, and harassment from further harm. However, because these violations are typically classified as civil matters rather than criminal convictions, they often do not appear in background checks conducted by employers, landlords, and family courts. This omission not only endangers survivors but also allows repeat offenders to continue their abusive behavior without consequence.
The Urgent Need to Protect Children
Children are among the most vulnerable when protection order violations go unreported or unrecognized. Parents who have repeatedly violated protective orders can still gain custody or unsupervised visitation, placing children in harm’s way. Without these violations being made visible in legal and background checks, courts may unknowingly grant access to individuals who pose a threat to their child’s safety and well-being.
By implementing these changes, we can provide greater protection for survivors and children, increase public safety, and hold repeat offenders accountable. I urge you to introduce and support legislation that ensures these violations are visible, enforceable, and taken seriously in legal and protective proceedings.
By implementing these changes, we can provide greater protection for survivors and children, increase public safety, and hold repeat offenders accountable. I urge you to introduce and support legislation that ensures these violations are visible, enforceable, and taken seriously in legal and protective proceedings.
Please let me know your stance on this issue and what steps you will take to address it. I would appreciate the opportunity to discuss this further.
Thank you for your time and commitment to public safety.
How it will be delivered
How This Petition Will Be Delivered
This petition will be formally submitted to Congress, State legislators, Justice departments, and agencies responsible for background check regulations. My goal is to ensure that protection order violations are recorded and accessible, preventing further harm to survivors and their children.