Domestic violence victims get alerts when abusers try to buy guns.
S. 5656 — Domestic Violence SAFE Notice Act · Filed by Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) · 7 cosponsors · Introduced Sep 30, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill sets up a system to tell domestic violence victims when their abusers try to buy firearms. Victims can sign up for alerts. They get notified when an abuser tries to buy a gun. They also get notified when a background check stops a purchase. The bill gives money to states to build similar alert systems.
Who it affects
Domestic violence victims can sign up to get alerts. The system is voluntary. Victims can add their name or remove it anytime.
One thing to notice
Victims must sign up themselves; the system does not automatically enroll them. Alerts come after an abuser tries to buy a gun, not before.
From the analysis of the bill text, linked under Primary records below.
Where it stands
7 cosponsors: 7 Democrats.
- Sep 30, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
- Sep 30, 2026 — Referred to Senate Committee on the Judiciary · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Words to know
- domestic violence victims — People hurt or threatened by a partner or family member.
- background check — A search to see if someone can legally buy a gun.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (23,229 characters) on Oct 13, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-10-20.
“Domestic violence victims get alerts when abusers try to buy guns.” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/s5656/simple Report an error
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