Protection orders can be a lifeline for domestic violence victims. This website aims to make the process easier

For Washingtonians trying to cut contact with their domestic abusers and stalkers, civil protection orders are often a necessary legal step.

But the process of filing one can be tricky to navigate.

That’s why the Alliance for Gun Responsibility has launched a new website to help those understand the task.

"It will walk them through helping them to identify which type of protection order best suits their needs, and then information about how to best prepare for filing a protection order," said Renée Hopkins, CEO of the nonprofit.

Hopkins says the nonprofit was motivated to launch the website after advocating for civil protection order laws over the past decade.

"We realized as sort of our own learning that a lot of the people who are either responsible for implementing protection order laws or people who might be in need of protection order laws did not necessarily know about them," Hopkins said.

In Washington, civil protection orders are available for people experiencing dangerous situations like domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking. They can prohibit contact between victims and their abusers, and in some cases, order abusers to temporarily give up their firearms.

In some cases, this court order can save lines, Hopkins said.

"There's a huge intersection between domestic violence and mass shootings," she said. "And extreme risk protection orders have been a really valuable tool in intervening in threats of mass violence as well."

There were at least 43 domestic violence-related homicides in Washington, according to a 2022 report published by Johns Hopkins University — and two-thirds of them were by firearm.

The Alliance for Gun Responsibility's new website also includes information for members of law enforcement and individuals who are being served protection orders.

Correction, Thursday, 8/21/25 at 10:35 a.m.: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated the name of the Alliance for Gun Responsibility. The story has since been corrected.