WASHINGTON, May 19 -- Sen. Gary Peters issued the following press release:
U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI) reintroduced bipartisan legislation to help us better understand and respond to the connection between animal cruelty and interpersonal violence. Peters' Animal Violence Exposes Real Threat of (AVERT) Future Violence Act - which he reintroduced with U.S. Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) - would commission a Justice Department study to assess the link between acts of animal cruelty and future violence against others, such as domestic violence and gun violence. It would also authorize a grant program to support mental health experts, law enforcement, and animal welfare organizations in their efforts to stop animal cruelty and rehabilitate offen...