Washington –
U.S. Senate bargainers on Tuesday agreed on a bilateral gun violence bill, presumably an incremental but landmark package that would stand for final passage over the weekend in response to congressional shootings in Texas and New York that shook the nation.
The 80-page bill was issued nine days after lawmakers agreed on a draft plan, and 29 years after Congress last introduced major gun controls. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., predicted Senate approval later this week, and the Democratic-led House of Representatives could soon follow suit.
Although Republicans blocked the hard-line sanctions sought by Democrats, the agreement marks the election-year success of the GOP’s staunch gun-ownership and the Democrats’ urban-centric pro-gun campaign against rural gun supporters. This makes it one of the most fiery culture battlegrounds in politics, and some lawmakers, especially Republicans, who could separate the Stalwarts from the Second Amendment.
The law tightens background checks for the youngest gun buyers, requiring more sellers to conduct background checks and penalize gun smugglers. It will also distribute money to states and communities aimed at improving school safety and mental health initiatives.
Aides estimated the cost of the measure would be about $ 15 billion, which would be paid in full by Connecticut’s Sen. Chris Murphy, the leading Democratic bargainer.
Resolving one last hurdle in delaying the agreement, the bill would prohibit romantic partners convicted of domestic violence from taking up arms and not marrying victims. Convicted abusers who are married, live with them or have children with their victims are prohibited from carrying a gun.
The agreement prohibits guns for anyone with a “current or current dating relationship with the victim.” It is partially defined as “those who have recently had or continue to have a serious relationship of a romantic or intimate nature.” The ability to possess a gun can be restored after five years if the offender does not commit another serious crime.
In another delayed dispute, the bill would provide राज्य 750 million to 19 states and the District of Columbia with “red flag” laws that make it easier to temporarily remove guns from persons considered dangerous, and other states with violence prevention programs. States that receive the “red flag” law to obtain funds will have to take legal action against gun owners to fight the removal of the gun.
The pace in Congress for gun laws has a history of slowing down soon after the mass shootings, and lawmakers are scheduled to begin a two-week July 4th vacation this weekend.
The law lacks many powerful proposals that President Joe Biden supports and that Democrats have pushed for years without success, derailed by the GOP opposition. These include banning or buying assault-type weapons, raising the minimum age for prohibition, prohibiting high-capacity magazines, and requiring background checks on almost all gun sales.
However, after 10 black shops were blown up in Buffalo, New York, last month, and 19 children and two teachers were killed in Texas, Democrats and some Republicans decided the measures would be more appropriate this time around. – Gridlock.
Murphy said after the killing of the buffalo and the buffalo, “I saw a level of fear on the faces of parents and children that I had never seen before.” He said his colleagues faced concerns and fears among voters “not only for the safety of their children, but also for the government’s ability to stand up and do something meaningful at this moment.”
This bill, Murphy said, would “save thousands of lives.” Before entering the Senate, Newtown, Connecticut, in his House District, where 20 children and six staff members were killed in a 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
Texas Top GOP Bargainer Sen. John Cornin said of the deal, “Some people think it’s going too far, others think it’s not going far enough. And I understand. That’s the nature of the deal.”
But he added: “I believe that those who are asking us to do something are sending us a clear message of what we can do to protect our children and our community. I am convinced that this law will take us in a positive direction.”
The pace in Congress for gun laws has a history of slowing down soon after the mass shootings, and lawmakers are scheduled to begin a two-week July 4th vacation this weekend.
In a positive sign about its fate, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R.K., voiced his support, calling it a “common sense package of popular measures that will help reduce the likelihood of these horrific events fully supporting the Second Amendment.” Citizens. “
The National Rifle Association, which has spent decades derailing gun control laws, has opposed the measure. “It is reduced at every level. Opening the door to unnecessary burdens on the exercise of the Second Amendment freedom by law-abiding gun owners makes it less likely to really address violent crime,” the gun lobby group said.
It seems that a majority of Republicans – especially in the House – will oppose the law.
Pointing to the backlash facing most conservative voters by GOP lawmakers supporting the deal, delegates urged Corinne at her state’s Republican convention in Houston on Saturday as she described the measures.
In another measure of conservative sentiment, Missouri Sen. Josh Howley, a potential 2024 Republican presidential candidate, tweeted that the bill “ignores the national crime wave and puts away chips instead of the fundamental rights of law-abiding citizens.” Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, another potential White House optimist, said it would “restrict the freedom of Americans to follow the law and put more power in the hands of politicians and political officials.”
The measure requires at least 10 GOP votes to reach the 60-vote threshold. Major bills are often required in the 50-50 Senate. Ten Republican senators joined 10 Democrats in support of the format, and Cornin told reporters that “I think there will be at least 10 GOP votes.”
What is uncertain is whether this agreement and its passage marks the beginning of a slow but gradual congressional action to stop gun violence, or the high water mark on the issue. As far as Buffalo and Ubalade, a listening parade of mass murder – at sites including elementary and high schools, houses of worship, military facilities, bars and the Las Vegas Strip – has been the only stalemate in Washington.
“Thirty years, murder after murder, suicide after suicide, mass shooting after mass shooting, Congress did nothing,” Murphy said. “This week we have the opportunity to break this 30-year silence period with a bill that changes our law to save thousands of lives.”
For the first time, the bill would require a federal background check for gun buyers between the ages of 18 and 20 to include a check on the buyer’s juvenile record. That added data collection could add another seven days to the current three-day limit on background checks.
The Buffalo and Uvalde shooting suspects were both 18-year-olds, matching profiles with several mass shooters in recent years.
There will be millions of dollars to expand community behavioral health centers, telemedicine visits for psychiatrists and training first responders to handle people with mental health problems. More than २ 2 billion will be provided for staff recruitment and training for school mental health services, including $ 300 million to improve school safety.
Congress banned attack-type weapons in 1993, ending a decade later, the last comprehensive law for lawmakers to address gun violence.
Associated Press writer Kevin Freaking contributed to this report.