To the Editor:

Re “N.R.A.’s Next Target: Violence Against Women Act” (news article, April 2):

The National Rifle Association uses its legislative scorecard as a means of intimidating lawmakers into voting its way. The bills it chooses to include in its ratings reflect its top policy goals. Now you report that reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act will be on that list. The message is clear: Vote to protect women’s lives at your political peril.

The N.R.A. wants to leave open the “boyfrie nd loophole,” which allows intimate partners who are convicted of domestic violence, stalking or abuse to keep their firearms. Current protections apply only to men who are married to or who live with the women they abuse and with whom they have a child; boyfriends and exes get a pass.

More than 1,800 women were murdered by men in 2016 , and the most common weapon used was a gun, according to a study by the Violence Policy Center. The study found that most often, women were killed by men in the course of an argument.

Congress must close the boyfriend loophole, reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act and make protecting women — not the gun lobby — its focus.