Jindal signs bills targeting domestic violence

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Gov. Bobby Jindal has signed into law six bills aimed at helping domestic violence victims in a state that leads the nation in domestic abuse deaths.
The bills:
—Make domestic abuse one of the grounds for immediate divorce in Louisiana.
—Ban an abuser under a protective order from possessing a firearm and those convicted of domestic abuse battery from possessing a gun for a decade.
—Classifies a conviction on the charge of domestic abuse-aggravated assault as a crime of violence, reducing eligibility for parole or probation.
—Expedites protective order filings.
—Allows additional damage awards in lawsuits filed by domestic abuse victims.
—Adds new restrictions to bail authorizations in domestic abuse situations.
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Senate Bills 291 and 292 and House Bills 747, 750, 753 and 1142 can be found at www.legis.la.gov