House spokesman Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) made remarks as she joined fellow Democrats for a rally before voting on the Bipartisan Safe Communities Act outside the US Capitol on June 24, 2022 in Washington, DC.
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In a bid to respond to the recent influx of bloody gun massacres, U.S. lawmakers on Friday adopted the most significant federal gun restrictions in decades, after years of false starts and failures to tighten gun laws.
Following the Senate’s adoption late Thursday, the House of Representatives passed a bipartisan bill that takes steps to restrict access to weapons for the youngest buyers, perpetrators of domestic violence and others who could pose a risk to their communities. The Law on Two-Party Safer Communities will also fund school safety and mental health programs.
The House approved it by a margin of 234-193 as 14 Republicans joined all Democrats. The law is aimed at President Joe Biden, who is expected to sign it as law quickly.
Democrats hoped the legislation would further curb gun violence after lone gunmen killed black shoppers at a Buffalo grocery store and children at a Texas elementary school last month. The victory for gun security defenders this week also failed, as the Supreme Court overturned a law in New York that restricts the ability to carry concealed weapons. The decision threatens similar laws across the country.
However, Democrats hailed the bill as a landmark event after gaining support from Republicans, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican who has long battled efforts to curb gun ownership following previous mass shootings that shook the country.
“Tonight, after 28 years of inaction, bipartisan members of Congress have come together to heed the call of families across the country and pass legislation to tackle the scourge of gun violence in our communities,” Biden said in a statement Thursday night. after the Senate approved the bill. “Families in Uwalde and Buffalo – and too many tragic shootings before – demanded action. And tonight we acted.
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The bill, passed on Friday, will improve past checks on gun buyers aged 18 to 21. Easy access to firearms for young adults has come under tight scrutiny after 18-year-olds armed with assault rifles fired both times in Buffalo and Uwalde, Texas. Democrats hoped to ban these weapons for people under 21.
The legislation also aims to close the so-called door for boyfriends and restrict the possession of weapons for perpetrators of domestic violence who are not married to their partners. It will also create grants for states to promote red flag laws that allow police or relatives and acquaintances to petition the court to order the removal of a weapon if the person is considered dangerous.
It will also fund school safety and mental health programs for young people. Proponents of Republican gun rights argue that these problems, rather than the proliferation of firearms, have fueled the epidemic of gun violence in the United States. Democrats have also long lamented the lack of funding for mental health programs.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the California Democrat who spearheaded the passage of a far larger arms bill this month, is quick to pass the bill despite concerns about its scope.
“Every day, gun violence is stealing the lives and scars of communities – and this crisis requires urgent action,” she said in a statement Thursday. “While we need to do more, the Law on Two-Party Safer Communities is a step forward that will help protect our children and save lives.”
Proponents of gun control hold signs in front of proponents of gun rights during a demonstration of victims of gun violence in front of the Supreme Court as they begin disputes over a major arms rights case on November 3, 2021, in Washington, DC.
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The original proposal would ban assault rifles for people under the age of 21 and ban some high-capacity magazines, among other steps. He had little chance of passing through the Senate, where Democrats have to win more than 10 Republicans to garner the 60 votes needed to break up a legislative filibuster, and was eventually reduced.
Negotiations led by Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., And John Cornin, R-Texas, eventually led to a breakthrough. Murphy, who represents Newtown, Connecticut, in the US House of Commons during the Sandy Hook Elementary massacre in 2012, has long been pushing for new gun restrictions.
Fifteen Republicans, including McConnell, voted in favor of the bill in the Senate. The Republican Senate leader on Thursday presented legislation as a middle ground between protecting schools and guaranteeing gun ownership.
“The legislation before us would make our communities and schools safer without putting our finger on the Second Amendment for law-abiding citizens. “Its key provisions are extremely popular with the American people,” he said.
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