119-hr4166

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4166 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 4166

 To amend title 18, United States Code, to define intimate partner to 
 include someone with whom there is or was a dating relationship, and 
 for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 June 26, 2025

Mrs. Dingell (for herself and Mr. Fitzpatrick) introduced the following 
 bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To amend title 18, United States Code, to define intimate partner to 
 include someone with whom there is or was a dating relationship, and 
 for other purposes.

 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

 This Act may be cited as the ``Strengthening Protections for 
Domestic Violence and Stalking Survivors Act of 2025''.

SEC. 2. ADDRESSING INTIMATEPARTNER VIOLENCE.

    (a) Inclusion of Current and Former Dating Partners in Definition 
of ``Intimate Partner''.--

Section 921

    (a) of title 18, United States 
Code, is amended--

    (1) in paragraph

    (32) --
        (A) by striking ``and an individual'' and inserting 
 ``an individual''; and
        (B) by inserting before the period at the end the 
 following: ``, an individual who is or was in a dating 
 relationship with the person, or any other individual 
 similarly situated to a spouse, including an individual 
 who is protected by the domestic or family violence 
 laws of the State or Tribal jurisdiction in which the 
 abuse occurred or the victim resides'';

    (2) by striking paragraph

    (37)
        (A) and inserting the 
 following:
 ``

    (37)
        (A) The term `dating relationship' means a relationship 
between individuals who have or have had, or in the case of a 
misdemeanor crime of domestic violence have or have recently had, a 
continuing serious relationship of a romantic or intimate nature.''; 
and

    (3) in paragraph

    (37)
            (C) , by striking ``dating 
 relationship'' and inserting ``continuing serious 
 relationship''.

    (b) Inclusion of Dating Partners' Children in Definition of 
``Misdemeanor Crime of Domestic Violence''.--

Section 921

    (a)

    (33)
        (A)
            (ii) of title 18, United States Code, is amended--

    (1) by striking ``victim, or by a person'' and inserting 
 ``victim, by a person''; and

    (2) by inserting ``, or by a person who has a current or 
 recent former dating relationship with the parent, guardian, or 
 person similarly situated to a parent or guardian of the 
 victim'' before the period at the end.
            (c) New Prohibitor for Misdemeanor Crimes of Stalking.--Chapter 44 
of title 18, United States Code, is amended--

    (1) in 

section 921

    (a) , by adding at the end the following:
 ``

    (39)
        (A) Except as provided in subparagraphs
        (B) and
            (C) , the term 
`misdemeanor crime of stalking' means an offense that--
 ``
            (i) is a misdemeanor under Federal, State, Tribal, or 
 local law; and
 ``
            (ii) has as an element a course of harassment, 
 intimidation, or surveillance that--
 ``
            (I) places a person in reasonable fear of actual 
 harm to the health or safety of--
 ``

    (aa) that person;
 ``

    (bb) an immediate family member (as 
 defined in 

section 115) of that person;
 ``
            (cc) an individual who shares or has 
 shared a residence with that person, without 
 regard to whether the individual is related to 
 that person;
 ``
            (dd) an intimate partner of that person; 
 or
 ``

    (ee) the pet, service animal, or 
 emotional support animal (as those terms are 
 defined in 

section 2266) of that person; or
 ``
            (II) causes, attempts to cause, or would 
 reasonably be expected to cause emotional distress to a 
 person described in item

    (aa) ,

    (bb) ,
            (cc) , or
            (dd) of 
 subclause
            (I) .
 ``
        (B) A person shall not be considered to have been convicted of 
such an offense for purposes of this chapter, unless--
 ``
            (i) the person was represented by counsel in the case, or 
 knowingly and intelligently waived the right to counsel in the 
 case; and
 ``
            (ii) in the case of a prosecution for an offense 
 described in this paragraph for which a person was entitled to 
 a jury trial in the jurisdiction in which the case was tried, 
 either--
 ``
            (I) the case was tried by a jury; or
 ``
            (II) the person knowingly and intelligently 
 waived the right to have the case tried by a jury, by 
 guilty plea or otherwise.
 ``
            (C) A person shall not be considered to have been convicted of 
such an offense for purposes of this chapter if the conviction has been 
expunged or set aside, or is an offense for which the person has been 
pardoned or has had civil rights restored (if the law of the applicable 
jurisdiction provides for the loss of civil rights under such an 
offense) unless the pardon, expungement, or restoration of civil rights 
expressly provides that the person may not ship, transport, possess, or 
receive firearms.''; and

    (2) in 

section 922--
        (A) in subsection
            (d) --
            (i) by redesignating paragraphs

    (10) and

    (11) as paragraphs

    (11) and

    (12) , respectively;
            (ii) by inserting after paragraph

    (9) the 
 following:
 ``

    (10) has been convicted in any court of a misdemeanor 
 crime of stalking;''; and
            (iii) in paragraph

    (12) , as so 
 redesignated, by striking ``

    (10) '' and 
 inserting ``

    (11) ''; and
        (B) in subsection

    (g) --
            (i) in paragraph

    (8) , by striking ``or'' at 
 the end;
            (ii) in paragraph

    (9) , by striking the 
 comma at the end and inserting ``; or''; and
            (iii) by inserting after paragraph

    (9) the 
 following:
 ``

    (10) has been convicted in any court of a misdemeanor 
 crime of stalking,''.
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