Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) is leading the push for the inclusion of closing the so-called boyfriend loophole, potentially one of the most significant provisions in the gun deal being worked out by the Senate.

I can confirm she proposed the domestic violence provision be included in the framework, a Sinema spokesperson told HuffPost.

Another source close to the negotiations also confirmed Sinemas role.

Closing the loophole would prevent convicted stalkers and abusers from buying or owning guns . Current federal law bars firearm purchases by people convicted of domestic abuse against their spouse or someone with whom theyve lived or had a child, but it does not cover dating partners or other individuals.

Nearly half of all women killed in America are murdered by a current or former intimate partner, and research shows that access to a gun makes it five times more likely an abusive partner will kill his female victim. Every month in the United States, 70 women are shot and killed by an intimate partner, according to Everytown For Gun Safety. Women in the United States are 21 times more likely to be killed with a gun than women in other wealthy nations.

And there is a strong link between domestic violence and mass shootings. Research from The Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence found about two-thirds of mass shooters between 2014 and 2019 either killed a partner or family member or had a history of domestic violence. The perpetrators of the massacres of 49 people at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, in 2016, and of 26 people at a church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, in 2017, both had histories of domestic violence.

A bipartisan group of 20 lawmakers is working to finalize what is likely to be the first major piece of federal gun control legislation in three decades. Sinema and Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) are the lead negotiators of the proposal, which came about after the recent mass shootings in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas.

Senators are still writing the legislation, but an announcement on Sunday indicated the proposal would, in addition to closing the boyfriend loophole, include incentives for states to pass red flag laws to keep guns out of the hands of people who are a danger to themselves or others, enhance background checks for buyers younger than 21, invest in mental health and school safety programs, and increase penalties for straw purchasers who buy guns for others.