The most major piece of gun legislation in over 30 years has been approved by the US Senate.
By a vote of 65 to 33, Democrats and fifteen Republicans in the upper house of Congress approved the legislation.
It comes after deadly shootings last month at a Buffalo, New York, supermarket and a Uvalde, Texas, elementary school that claimed 31 lives.
Before President Biden can sign the measure into law, it must now pass the House of Representatives.
The president urged House members to “promptly vote on this bipartisan bill and deliver it to my desk” in a statement issued following the vote.
After 28 years of inactivity, bipartisan members of Congress finally responded to the cries of American families and approved legislation to combat the epidemic of gun violence in our neighborhoods, according to Mr. Biden. “Families in Uvalde and Buffalo, as well as the victims of too many other fatal shootings, have called for action. We also performed tonight.”
Despite Republican leader Kevin McCarthy asking his members to vote against the package, Speaker Nancy Pelosi has pledged to move the legislation through the House fast.
After the vote, Ms. Pelosi stated, “The Rules Committee will convene first thing tomorrow morning to take this life-saving measure to the floor.”
The initiatives, however important, are far from what many Democrats and activists have demanded.
The changes include more stringent background checks for purchasers under 21 and $15 billion (£12.2 billion) in government financing for mental health initiatives and enhancing school security.
Additionally, cash is requested to support the implementation of “red flag” legislation by states to take away weapons from those deemed a threat.
Additionally, it eliminates the infamous “boyfriend loophole” by prohibiting the sale of firearms to anyone found guilty of assaulting unmarried intimate partners.
The fact that both Democrats and Republicans have shown this degree of support for the proposed improvements makes the measure notable since it is the first time in decades that this has happened. The Republican party has always opposed attempts to tighten firearms regulations in the US.
Republican deal-makers, including the party’s Senate leader Mitch McConnell and close Trump supporter Lindsey Graham, joined all 50 Democrats, including the party’s most conservative senators, Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema.
The International Association of Chiefs of Police and the Fraternal Order of Police are just two of the many lobbying groups with a historically conservative bent that supported the legislation.
The plan would make Americans safer, said Republican Senator John Cornyn of Texas, who co-led the discussions with Democratic Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut.
In response to what was seen in Uvalde and in far too many other places, Mr. Cornyn remarked, “I don’t believe in doing nothing.”
Doing nothing would be a dereliction of duty on our part as the United States Senate’s representatives of the American people.
“This is not a cure-all for the ways gun violence impacts our society, but it is a long-overdue move in the right direction,” said Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.
The proposal was, however, rejected by two-thirds of Republicans, and all of those who supported it, except Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Todd Young of Indiana, will not be up for election this year or have said they would not run for reelection.
The bill was denounced by Texas Senator Ted Cruz, who is expected to run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, as an effort to “try to disarm law-abiding folks rather than take genuine measures to safeguard our children.”
“The battle of a lifetime”
The passage of the measure was applauded by the gun control advocacy group March For Our Lives, which was created by Parkland school shooting survivors.
“We are aware that much more has to be done to stop this epidemic. But we arrived here tonight after a lot of effort. We will not give up or be silent. The battle of our life is to end gun violence “The collective tweeted.
The National Rifle Association (NRA), which is opposed to the legislation, claims that it won’t reduce violence.
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 comprehensive changes, such as a ban on assault rifles, which were used in the recent mass killings in Texas and Buffalo. At the very least, he wants to raise the age at which these weapons may be acquired. Two days after turning 18, the Texas shooting shooter is said to have bought two semi-automatic firearms.
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According to the Gun Violence Archive, a non-profit research organization, the US has the highest rate of gun deaths among the rich countries in the world. This year, more than 20,900 individuals have died in gun violence in the US, including homicide and suicide.
However, it is also a nation where many people value their Second Amendment right to “keep and carry guns,” which is guaranteed by law.
The last important federal gun control law, which forbade the production of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines for civilian use, was approved in 1994, but it was repealed ten years later.
Attempts to strengthen the legislation following the 2012 Sandy Hook school tragedy in Connecticut, which claimed the lives of 20 children and six adults, failed to win enough support in Congress.
The Supreme Court’s decision to overturn a New York rule limiting who is permitted to carry a pistol hours before the vote on Thursday substantially expanded gun rights and highlighted the country’s sharp division on the subject.
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The court determined that it is unconstitutional for New Yorkers to be required to demonstrate “proper cause,” or a valid reason, to carry concealed weapons in public.
According to Mr. McConnell, the court’s ruling and the legislation passed on Thursday were “two monumental triumphs.”
