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Utah eyes domestic-violence law change after brutal shooting

Salt Lake City • Utah lawmakers want to fix gaps in domestic violence law exposed when a man killed his ex-girlfriend and her son by opening fire on a car full of children after school.

Memorez Rackley, who was killed in June 2017, couldn’t have gotten a protective order, despite a previous stalking report, because the onetime couple had never been married or lived together, a distinction that Republican Sen. Todd Weiler called lunacy.

The bill is now before the Utah House after clearing the Senate on Monday. It would also bar perpetrators from schools and make other revisions, like setting a default expiration date and narrowing the definition of a family member, said Weiler, of Woods Cross.