Sources emphasize that the agreement is only in principle and that the thorny legislative text has not yet been written.
A source familiar with the discussions said negotiators hope to get 10 Republican senators to sign the agreement before it is announced to show they can meet the 60-vote threshold. Currently, the Senate is divided equally between the Democratic Party Conference and the Republican Party Conference with 50 seats each.
Sources involved in the talks said the agreement’s plan includes providing funding to encourage states to implement red flag laws, expanding mental health services by expanding a pilot program from 10 states for behavioral health services to all 50 the state, allowing juvenile documents to be searched during inspections for persons under 21 and funding for school security measures. It would also change the background check system to better deal with criminals who evade the system by using smaller “hobbyists” to buy illegal weapons. The agreement is not expected to include a number of provisions imposed by President Joe Biden and proponents of gun control, namely renewing the so-called assault gun ban and raising the age for buying semi-automatic rifles from 18 to 21. The four main Senate negotiators are Democrats Chris Murphy of Connecticut and Kirsten Cinema of Arizona and GOP Sens. John Cornin of Texas and Tom Tillis of North Carolina have been negotiating over the weekend to come up with the latest details and have also been in discussions with a larger bipartisan group of negotiators. The chamber voted 223-204 last week to pass a broad package of gun control legislation called the Child Protection Act. However, the measure is not expected to be approved by the Senate amid widespread opposition from the Republican Party against tighter gun control. The adoption of the legislation in the House of Representatives took place hours after an emotional hearing on gun violence, in which the families of the victims pleaded for more action.
Democratic MP Jamie Ruskin of Maryland on Sunday praised Senate negotiators for their work on the legislation, but did not express support for the upcoming package.
“We will certainly vote on it and work on it,” he told The State of the Union when asked if we would vote on the bill, adding: “It is moving in the right direction. We’re glad the Senate has finally woken up to that. ”
A spokeswoman for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a progressive Democrat from New York, said later in the same program that she would be ready to support the legislation, “if we get a real baby step and not something like distraction, I think, from the decision.” that the inclusion of a provision for background checks is crucial.
“You know, I believe that if we can verify the past, my hope is that it is yes,” on legislation, said Ocasio-Cortez.
CNN’s Christine Wilson contributed to this report.
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