I don't believe that one should go around beating their spouses, etc: however what constitutes domestic violence is not always as clear cut as it should be. I think Wyoming is moving in the right direction. I have known several men who have been convicted of domestic violence who pleaded guilty just to expedite the process without realizing the consequences of a conviction. Both of the cases involved wives who went ballistic with temper tantrums and started beating on their husbands and when the men resisted the attacks by grabbing their wrist or shoulders the men were arrested and charged.
Another friend's exwife was psyscho and they were involved in a very loud verbal fight. He had been working on the electrical system of their house and she got upset that the power was off. My friend, rather than make a scene and continue the argument, left. A neighbor called the police and before they came to the scene the wife had cut up the wiring at the service panel and blamed it on the husband. The police went after him because of what she did. He finally got it straightened out without getting charged, but it took some time for the prosecuter to review it. He actually had a couple of officers from another juristiction where he used to live stand up for him. Those cops had a long history with and were very familiar with the antics of his psycho wife.
Too many times it seems there is a presumption that the man is the one responsible for violence in a domestic situation when it is not always the case. The two guys that pleaded guilty had never been in trouble and were basically told it was a misdemeanor and they would get a small fine a be done with it. They did not know and were not told that a misdemeanor conviction of domestic assualt would cost them their firearms rights.
In the area where I live, the law enforcement practice is that if the police are called to the scene, someone is going to jail. It maybe nothing more than a loud argument that a neighbor calls and complaines about the noise. Is that domestic violence?