WASHINGTON (AP) – The Senate pushed the bipartisan gun violence bill to the brink of adoption Thursday as it voted to stop a Republican filibuster against the measure, clearing the way for Congress’ most comprehensive response to decades of brutal movement.
After years of procedural delays by the Republican Party, which derailed Democrats ‘efforts to curb firearms, Democrats and some Republicans decided that Congress’ inaction was untenable after last month’s riots in New York and Texas. It took weeks of closed-door talks, but a group of senators from both parties emerged with an 80-page compromise, embodying a gradual but influential movement.
The measure will step up inspections of the youngest arms buyers, protect firearms from more perpetrators of domestic violence, and help states introduce red flag laws that make it easier for authorities to take weapons from people declared dangerous. It will also fund local programs for school safety, mental health and violence prevention.
A roll call on Thursday that ended the blockade by conservative Republican senators was 65-34, five more than the required 60-vote threshold. The final adoption of the $ 13 billion measure was expected by the end of the week, followed by a vote in the House of Representatives. The timing was uncertain, but Congress had to leave town by the weekend for a two-week break.
Fifteen Republicans in the Senate joined all 50 Democrats, including their two allied independents, in voting to continue the bill.
The day turned out to be bitter for proponents of limiting gun violence. Emphasizing the enduring power of conservative influence, the right-wing Supreme Court issued a ruling extending the right of Americans to bear arms in public. Judges repealed a law in New York that required people to prove the need to carry a weapon before obtaining a license to do so.
The Senate vote highlighted the risks facing Republicans in opposing party supporters who support the gun and the National Shooting Association. Sensor Lisa Markowski of Alaska and Todd Young of Indiana were the only two of the 15 to be re-elected this fall. Of the remaining four, they are retiring and eight are not facing voters until 2026.
Significantly, Republican senators who voted “no” include potential presidential candidates in 2024, such as Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Ted Cruz of Texas, Josh Hawley of Missouri and Tim Scott of South Carolina. Some of the party’s most conservative members also voted no, including Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky and Mike Lee of Utah.
The election year package is far from meeting the stricter gun restrictions that Democrats have been seeking for years, including bans on assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition refills used in the Buffalo, New York, and Uwalde, Texas killings. . Still, the agreement allowed the leaders of the two parties to declare victory and demonstrate to voters that they know how to compromise and get the government to work, while leaving room for each country to address its main supporters.
“This is not a cure-all for the ways in which gun violence affects our nation,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., whose party has set gun restrictions as a goal for decades. “But it is a long overdue step in the right direction. That’s important, it will save lives. “
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Out of respect for the Second Amendment to the right to bear arms, which drives many conservative voters, said that “the American people want their constitutional rights to be protected and their children be safe at school. ” He said that “they want both at the same time and that is exactly what the bill will achieve before the Senate.”
Although the Senate measure was a clear breakthrough, the prospects for Congress to continue its arms control movement are bleak.
Only about a third of the Senate’s 50 senators in the Senate supported the measure, and a solid Republican opposition is secure in the House. Republicans in the upper house called for an “no” vote in an email from the party’s No. 2 leader, Louisiana MP Steve Scalis, who called the bill “an effort to slowly remove the rights of law-abiding citizens from the Second Amendment.”
Both chambers – now closely controlled by Democrats – could be run by the Republican Party after the November midterm elections.
In a statement, President Joe Biden said Uwalde residents told him when he visited that Washington should act.
“Our children in schools and our communities will be safer because of this legislation. I urge Congress to complete the work and submit this bill to my desk, “Biden said.
The Senate action came a month after an armed man killed 19 students and two teachers in Uwalde. Just 10 days earlier, a white man accused of being motivated by racism had killed 10 black shoppers in Buffalo. Both shooters were 18 years old, a youth profile shared by many mass shooters.
Negotiations were led by Senator Chris Murphy, D-Conn., Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., John Cornin, R-Texas, and Tom Tillis, RN.C. Murphy represents Newtown, Connecticut, when an assailant killed 20 students and six employees at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012, while Cornin was involved in previous gun talks following mass shootings in his state and is close to McConnell.
The bill will make local juvenile files available to people aged 18 to 20 during mandatory federal inspections when trying to buy a weapon. These inspections, which are currently limited to three days, will last up to a maximum of 10 days to give federal and local officials time to look for records.
People convicted of domestic violence who are the victim’s current or former romantic partners will be barred from acquiring firearms by closing the so-called “boyfriend door”.
This prohibition currently only applies to people who are married, live with or have had children with the victim. The compromise bill will extend this to those who are believed to have had a “long-term serious relationship”.
There will be money to help countries enforce red flag laws and other countries without them to enforce violence prevention programs. Nineteen states and the District of Columbia have such laws, and Cornin – whose state does not exist – has called for all states to be included in the negotiations.
The measure expands the use of background checks by rewriting the definition of federally licensed arms dealers required to carry them out. Penalties for arms trafficking have been increased, billions of dollars have been provided for behavioral health clinics and school mental health programs, and there is money for school safety initiatives, but not for staff using “dangerous weapons.”
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