Washington – The House of Representatives on Wednesday passed legislation tightening national gun laws as lawmakers in both houses staged a response to a pair of mass shootings in New York and Texas that rocked the nation.
The bill was passed mainly through party lines 223-204, with five Republicans joining all but two Democrats.
Following a debate in the House of Representatives, the lower house was ready to vote on the “Protect Our Children” Act, a package of eight arms control bills that cleared the House of Representatives’ Judicial Committee last week. The action comes after members of the Oversight and Reform Commission heard heartbreaking testimony from a fourth-grader who survived the Rob shooting at elementary school, as well as people who lost loved ones in the mass shootings in Uwalde, Texas, and Buffalo, New York.
“It was an attack on the culture of our country that our children will not be able to go to school without fear or concern for their safety,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a speech in the hall as lawmakers gathered to discuss the bill. . “Our children are, as President Kennedy said, our greatest resource and our best hope for the future. They are our precious treasure and everything we do is for the children, and for the children we must stop this gun violence in our country and restore their confidence in their safety wherever they are. So we are on a crusade for the children and unfortunately now, for the children. “
Republican leaders in the House of Representatives have called on their members to vote against the measure, saying it was a “response package” consisting of proposals that violated the rights of Americans under the Second Amendment and hindered their ability to defend themselves.
Despite opposition from the Republican Party, the law is still passed by the House of Representatives, although it is unlikely to win 50-50 Senate approval, where 60 votes are needed for bills to overcome discontent and make progress. In the upper house, a bipartisan group of senators is working on a more personalized plan to reduce gun violence, and negotiators are seeking a consensus on a measure by the end of the week. At least 10 senators gathered on Wednesday to discuss gun reforms.
However, Sen. Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut who is one of the leading negotiators, said Tuesday at an event at the National Mall Gun Violence Memorial that the House bill will put pressure on the Senate to “do the right thing.” . “
As senators continue to work to reach a common ground on firearms reform legislation, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told fellow Democrats in a letter Tuesday that the “emergency” package includes provisions that will “save lives and will give hope. “
She called on all Democrats to attend the debate for two hours before the vote in a demonstration in support of survivors of gun violence and those killed.
Promptly prompted by lawmakers after the massacre at a grocery store in Buffalo and a primary school in Uwalde that took the lives of 31 adults and children together, the Protection of Our Children Act will raise the minimum age for buying a semi-automatic rifle from 18 to 21 years old and ban high-capacity magazines. The legislation also promotes the safe storage of firearms and establishes requirements governing the storage of firearms in residential areas, and is based on the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Regulatory Ban on Regulatory Prohibitions, which allows semi-automatic rifles to be fired more quickly. .
The lower house will also consider this week a plan by Republican Lucy McBate, a Democrat from Georgia who lost her son to gun violence, that will allow family members and law enforcement officials to obtain a federal court order to protect against extreme risk. to temporarily remove access to firearms to persons considered dangerous to themselves or others.
In response to the Buffalo and Uwalde shootings, President Joe Biden pressured Congress to send legislation to his bureau to strengthen federal gun laws. Addressing the nation last week, the president repeatedly declared “enough” as he mourned the lives lost in gun violence.
“How many carnage are we willing to accept? How many more innocent American lives must be taken before we can say enough? That’s enough,” the president said.
Biden, as he had done before, called on lawmakers to reinstate the 1994 ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, which has expired since then, to step up background checks and pass safekeeping and red flag laws. He also urged Congress to lift the immunity that protects gun manufacturers from liability.
But many of these proposals are unlikely to gain popularity among Senate Republicans and negotiating members, instead discussing a narrow plan that includes more funding for mental health resources, expanding inspections and encouraging states to pass red laws. flag .
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters Tuesday that members “hope to actually get a result that will make a difference in the areas of mental health, school safety and things related to the Texas and Buffalo incidents.” “.
Jack Thurman contributed to this report
School shooting in Uwald, Texas
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