ST. PAUL — A measure to bar domestic abusers from having guns passed a House committee Tuesday as supporters testified it would make victims safer.

The House public safety committee approved the measure on a voice vote. Rep. Dan Schoen, the Cottage Grove Democrat sponsoring it, said anyone who beats women and children doesn’t deserve to have a gun.

Schoen was careful to say the measure isn’t aimed at “law-abiding gun owners.”

It would also bar people subject to restraining orders from having guns.

Advocates cited statistics they said showed the chances of an abuse victim dying due to domestic violence rise when a gun is present.