COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- A bill increasing penalties in South Carolina for repeat domestic violence offenders and banning batterers from having guns is heading to the governor's desk.
The House voted 81-23 Thursday to accept a compromise. Many of the votes against the bill came from Democrats who felt the proposal gave too much power to prosecutors and didn't do enough to provide counseling.
The proposal changes the current system where punishment is based on the number of offenses. The bill punishes abusers based on the severity of the attack, the number of prior offenses and other factors, like whether the victim was strangled, is pregnant or children saw the abuse.
The compromise also provides a lifetime gun ban for the worst abusers and has an automatic three- or 10-year ban in other cases.
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