Domestic violence was once a crime that was often ignored. Fortunately, society has opened up to the reality that love shouldn’t hurt, but often does.

How many times does a spouse who is the victim of abuse go back to the abuser multiple times until the abuser ends the abuse by killing the victim?

To help prevent that horrible crime, two Cleveland Democratic Reps. Nickie Antonio and Janine Boyd, introduced a bill this week that would force those convicted of domestic abuse or served with a civil protection order to give up their firearms to law enforcement agencies.

There is already a federal law banning abusers from having guns when the Federal Gun Control Act of 1968 was amended in 1996.

At that time, Congress stated “anyone who attempts or threatens violence against a loved one has demonstrated that he or she poses an unacceptable risk and should be prohibited from possessing firearms.”

Now these two Ohio legislators would close any loopholes in the federal law by making sure it doesn’t happen on the local level.

When you consider that FBI data show 185 people were shot to death in the state in domestic violence cases in the past decade, the legislators are more than on the right track.

The only question is, why has it taken so long?