The Cost of Domestic Violence

For Immediate Release October 21, 2016 Contact: [email protected]  

The Cost of Domestic Violence

Waukesha, WI – Khary Penebaker, Democratic nominee for Wisconsin’s 5th Congressional District, issued the following statement: October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and today is the fourth anniversary of the Azana Spa mass shooting in Brookfield where an estranged ex-husband invaded his ex-wife’s workplace and shot and killed three women and wounded four others. It is not a rare incident – every day three people die in America as a result of domestic violence. As we remember this attack today in our community, every other part of America is also remembering its own loss because everyone in America lives near a place where domestic violence took their neighbors. Today we mourn the loss of Zina Daniel, Cary Robuck, and Maelyn Lind along with the countless other lives we’ve lost to domestic violence. We need to do better.  We need to listen to women who are in danger, and we need a federal law that offers a mechanism for removing weapons from the possession of a convicted domestic abuser.  Recently, the Wisconsin legislature in a bipartisan vote approved the same law (the SAFE Act), but many states still allow this domestic violence escalation loophole.  We need to enact similar commonsense legislation federally so we can prevent future tragedies from occurring.  We know the clearest predictor of future violence is past violence.  Three women every day, 52 every month via guns.  We must elect a Congress that cares about women or we will continue to add to the long list of lost neighbors. For anonymous, confidential help available 24/7, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 (SAFE) or 1-800-787-3224 (TTY) now.

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Last updated: March 18, 2026