The Senate vote on the final approval was 65 to 33. A group of House Democrats who saw the vote in the back of the House included Democrat Lucy McBath, whose 17-year-old son being shot dead in 2012 by a man who complained that his music was too loud.
In the key call hours earlier, senators voted 65-34 to end an obstructionism by conservative Republican senators. That was five more than the required 60-vote threshold. The House was scheduled to vote on the measure on Friday and approval seemed secure.
A state agent enters Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, after a deadly shooting at the school. Credit: AP
In both polls, 15 Senate Republicans joined the 50 Democrats, including their two independent allies, to support the legislation.
However, the polls highlighted the risks Republicans face by challenging party pro-gun voters and firearms groups such as the National Rifle Association. Senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Todd Young of Indiana were the only two of the 15 candidates for re-election this fall. Of the rest, four are retiring and eight will not face voters until 2026.
Revealingly, Republican senators who voted “no” included potential 2024 presidential candidates like 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 Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Mike Lee of Utah.
While the Senate measure was a clear breakthrough, the prospects for continuity of the Congressional movement on gun brakes are weak.
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Less than a third of the Senate’s 50 Republican senators supported the measure and strong Republican opposition is certain in the House. Leading House Republicans called for a “no” vote in an email from Louisiana’s No. 2 leader Steve Scalise, who called the bill “an effort to slowly break the rights of the second amendment of respectful citizens of Louisiana.” the law “.
Both chambers, now tightly controlled by Democrats, could be run by Republicans after the November midterm elections.
In a statement, President Joe Biden said Uvalde residents told him when he visited that Washington had to act. “Our children in schools and our communities will be safer thanks to this legislation. I ask Congress to finish the job and bring this bill to my desk,” Biden said.
The Senate action came a month after a gunman killed 19 students and two teachers in Uvalde. A few days earlier, a white man was accused of being motivated by racism when he killed 10 black grocery buyers in Buffalo. Both shooters were 18, a youth profile shared by many mass shooters, and the imminent timing of the two killings and casualties with which many could be identified sparked a demand from action voters, lawmakers from both said. parts.
Chris Murphy, the Democrat who led the bipartisan push for reform, after the success of the vote. Credit: AP
The talks were led by Democratic Senators Chris Murphy and Kyrsten Sinema, and Republicans John Cornyn and Thom Tillis. Murphy represented Newtown, Connecticut, when an assailant killed 20 students and six Sandy Hook Elementary School staff members in 2012, while Cornyn has been involved in previous gun talks following the mass shootings in his state and is in near McConnell.
Murphy said the measure would save thousands of lives and was an opportunity to “show a tired American public that democracy is not so broken that it cannot live up to the moment.”
“I don’t believe in doing anything in front of what we saw in Uvalde” and elsewhere, Cornyn said.
The bill would make available local youth records of people between the ages of 18 and 20 during mandatory federal background checks when attempting to purchase weapons. These exams, currently limited to three days, would take a maximum of 10 days to give federal and local officials time to search for records.
People convicted of domestic abuse who are current or former romantic partners of the victim would have been prohibited from acquiring firearms, closing the so-called “groove of the groom”.
Currently, this prohibition only applies to people who are married to the victim, who live, or who have had children with the victim. The compromise bill would extend this to those who are considered to have had “a continuing serious relationship.”
There would be money to help states enforce red flag laws and for other states without them for violence prevention programs. Nineteen states and the District of Columbia have these laws.
The measure expands the use of background checks by rewriting the definition of federally licensed arms dealers needed to carry them out. Sanctions for arms trafficking are strengthened, billions of dollars are provided for behavioral health clinics and school mental health programs, and there is money for school safety initiatives, though not for staff to use a “dangerous weapon.”
AP