- The US Senate has taken a step towards passing a significant new gun controls in a generation.
- The measures include tougher background checks for buyers younger than 21.
- President Biden has called the proposals “steps in the right direction,” but insufficient.
The bipartisan bill might be signed into law next week after senators voted to hasten its passage.
The suggestions, although noteworthy, are far from what many Democrats and activists have demanded in the wake of a string of horrific shootings.
For buyers under 21, the measures include stricter background checks.
The measure requests cash to support the implementation of “red flag” laws by states to take away firearms from those deemed a threat. The act also allocates $15 billion (£12.2 billion) in federal financing for mental health initiatives and improvements to school security.
Additionally, it eliminates the alleged “boyfriend loophole” by forbidding the sale of firearms to anyone found guilty of abusing unmarried intimate partners.
This level of support from senators from the Republican and Democratic parties for proposed gun safety legislation marks a historical first.
Less than two hours after the final language was released, the procedural Senate vote on Tuesday night passed by a vote of 64 to 34.
The bill received backing from 14 Republicans, indicating it may have enough votes to pass the Senate with no amendments.
Before reaching President Joe Biden’s desk, it must also be approved by the House of Representatives, which is now controlled by Democrats.
The package “will become the most substantial piece of anti-gun violence legislation Congress will have approved in 30 years,” said Senator Chris Murphy, the leading Democrat in the negotiations, on the Senate floor.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer issued the following statement: “This bicameral gun safety bill is a step forward and will save lives. Despite not being perfect, this law is desperately required.”
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In a statement announcing his own support, his Republican counterpart, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, called the plan “a common sense package.”
In a statement, the National Rifle Association (NRA) criticised the legislation, claiming that it “does little to really fight violent crime” and “may be misused to restrict lawful gun purchases.”
The recommendations, according to President Biden earlier this month, are “steps in the right direction,” but they are still insufficient.
He has advocated for more extensive changes, including as a ban on assault rifles, which were used in the mass killings in Texas and Buffalo, or at the very least, raising the legal buying age.
The last important federal gun control law, which forbade the production of assault rifles and high-capacity ammunition clips for civilian usage, was passed in 1994 but was repealed ten years later.
Among the developed countries, the US has the greatest rate of firearm-related fatalities. However, it is also a nation where many people value their Second Amendment right to “keep and carry guns,” which is guaranteed by law.
Republicans have already thwarted Democratic efforts to tighten US gun control regulations.
After the Connecticut Sandy Hook school shooting, which claimed the lives of 20 children and six adults, efforts to tighten US gun control laws failed to win enough support in Congress.
With 50 Democrats and 50 Republicans in the Senate, the upper chamber of Congress, legislation requires 60 votes to pass in order to avoid the tactic known as the filibuster.
Republicans make up ten of the 20 senators who developed the framework for the new legislation, indicating that the proposals have the support necessary to advance.
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