Amy Davis, 29. Dorene Seidl, 69. Adrianne Radford, 25. Patricia Searcy, 35.

All these Kentucky women were shot and killed since 2001 allegedly by men against whom they had filed domestic violence orders, men who weren't supposed to have guns.

On Sept. 11, Amanda Ross, 29, was shot to death, allegedly by her ex-fiancé, former state Rep. Steve Nunn, whose domestic violence order specifically prohibited him from having a gun.

Ross's death might bring change because a group of state lawmakers is rushing to strengthen Kentucky's domestic violence laws. Kentucky House Speaker Greg Stumbo pledged Wednesday to propose legislation named for Ross that would allow a judge to require those with a domestic violence order against them to wear an ankle bracelet that tracks their whereabouts.

"No other state has ever done that," Stumbo, D-Prestonsburg, said in an interview after attending Ross's funeral Wednesday afternoon. Stumbo is a family friend.

During the funeral, Ross family friend Dale Emmons, a Democratic political consultant, implored the audience of several hundred to support Stumbo's legislative effort.

"In the spirit of Amanda's political activism, we are presented with a unique opportunity," Emmons said. "We should work to immediately improve public law providing new and innovative protection of other victims of domestic abuse and violence."

Meanwhile, Democratic Reps. Joni Jenkins and Mary Lou Marzian of Louisville said Wednesday they are preparing a proposal that would make life tougher for domestic violence offenders who own guns.

Although a federal law now prohibits domestic violence offenders from possessing a firearm, only one county in Kentucky routinely makes them turn over their guns. In Jefferson County, those offenders have 24 hours after their court hearing to turn in their guns to the Sheriff's Department.

"It's an automatic process," said Chris Hancock, the operations commander for the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department, which now has a vault with 4,700 firearms of every kind. "I most certainly think it saves lives."

A 2003 study by the American Journal of Public Health found that access to firearms makes intimate-partner homicide five times more likely than when there are no weapons.

Jefferson Family Court Judge Jerry Bowles says he is upholding the federal law — there is no similar state law — whether others in the legal system like it or not.

"The priority to protect women's lives is greater than the constitutional right to bear arms," said Bowles, a national domestic violence expert who served on a statewide domestic violence task force with Nunn in 1991. "But it has really been a struggle because a lot of judges work to circumvent the laws because of their own personal views."

Greg Vincent, the Edmonson County Attorney who is president of the Kentucky County Attorney Association, said he doesn't think Jefferson County's system is legal.

"We can't just assume someone is doing something wrong," he said. "But if you have a DVO and you're found with a gun, then you'll be charged under that federal statute."

Jenkins and Marzian said they are drafting a bill that would create a state law to mirror federal regulations regarding domestic violence orders and weapons in an effort to compel more local law enforcement agencies to proactively enforce the rules.

Marzian said the gun lobby scuttled a previous effort in 2001, but she's hoping for better results in 2010. "Sometimes it takes a tragedy to get something that needs to be gotten," she said.

Jenkins has also proposed a measure that would extend domestic violence orders of protection to dating couples. Currently, DVOs are available only to those who are married or living together.

In Lexington, Fayette County Sheriff Kathy Witt and chief family court Judge Jo Ann Wise said they hope to begin a gun-confiscation program similar to Louisville's. Wise said she plans to present the idea to her fellow judges in coming weeks.

"I would like for the sheriff to confiscate guns from everyone with a DVO, but that is not a very popular opinion, even among judges," Wise said. "I do believe it would save lives. Maybe now we have the impetus to do it."

No matter what action Lexington takes, lawmakers need to make the practice mandatory across the state, Witt said.

"What about the domestic violence victims in 118 counties?" she said.

The laws on DVOs and weapons were passed by Congress as amendments to the 1994 Brady Law, which required background checks on people buying guns. Specifically, the laws prohibit people under DVOs or those convicted of domestic violence misdemeanors from possessing or obtaining guns.

Still, federal agents can't just search for guns in the residence of any domestic violence offender, said Matt White, the resident agent in charge of the Lexington Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Field Office.

"ATF works closely with the U.S. Attorney's Office and local authorities to investigate and prosecute people that possess gun(s) while under a domestic violence order," White said in a statement. "For years, we've used the FBI's National Crime Information Center database, tips from local law enforcement and citizens, among other avenues, to effectively investigate individuals that violate their domestic violence orders."

But Vincent says he doesn't see a lot of federal agents investigating possible violators in Edmonson County.

"For the average Joe who doesn't make it onto the front page or onto every TV station, the ATF doesn't come down," he said.

Kentucky has worked out a system that prevents offenders from buying guns from registered dealers. Anyone with a DVO is entered into the Law Information Network of Kentucky (LINK), which is then sent to the FBI's National Crime Information Center, the database used to flag people prohibited from buying guns.

However, a major loophole still exists nationally because the Brady law does not apply to gun show sales.

"More than three times as many women are murdered with guns by their partners than are murdered by a stranger's weapon," said Brian Namey, spokesman for the National Network to End Domestic Violence in Washington, D.C. "That's why we're trying to close this loophole."

It's not known where Nunn obtained the .38 special revolver that he allegedly used to kill Ross.

Neither gun laws nor domestic violence orders will stop someone intent on violence, experts agree.

"The DVO gives the person a chance to get away and have time to figure out what they want to do with their life," Vincent said.