The Senate voted in favor of advancing bipartisan gun legislation on Tuesday, hoping to pass it before the July 4 recess.
The 50 members of the Democratic caucus joined 14 Republicans to push through the legislation. The bill comes after a series of mass shootings, mostly in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas.
The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act does not comply with the more expansive proposals passed by Democrats in the House and already faces opposition from key House Republicans. However, if it became law, the bill would be the most comprehensive arms security legislation passed by Congress in decades.
Sen. John Cornyn, a Republican from Texas, is being questioned by reporters at the United States Capitol on June 21. (Mary F. Calvert / Reuters)
The main negotiators of the bill: Senators Chris Murphy, D-Conn., John Cornyn, R-Texas, Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz. and Thom Tillis, RN.C. – issued a joint statement celebrating the agreement.
“Today, we have finalized bipartisan, common-sense legislation to protect American children, keep our schools safe, and reduce the threat of violence across our country,” they said. “Our legislation will save lives and not violate the rights of the Second Amendment of law-abiding Americans. We hope to gain broad, bipartisan support and pass our common-law legislation.”
These are some of the key provisions of the 80-page bill.
Funding for crisis centers and so-called red flag laws
People line up to enter a gun shop in Culver City, California, in 2020. (Ringo HW Chiu / AP)
Under the law, $ 750 million will be allocated over the next five years to help states implement red-flag laws, which allow authorities to temporarily confiscate weapons from people they consider a threat to themselves or others. . (Similar laws already exist in 19 states and the District of Columbia.) Legislation allows for the implementation of these programs through mental health, drug, and veteran courts.
Republicans involved in the negotiations pressed to ensure that no one is marked without “the right to a hearing in person, an impartial adjudicator, the right to know opposing evidence, the right to present evidence and the right to confront to adverse witnesses. ” as well as the right to bring a lawyer to the hearing.
The story goes on
“Under this bill, all states will be able to use significant new federal dollars to expand their programs to try to prevent dangerous people, people contemplating mass killings or suicides, from having access to the weapons that allow this crime to be perpetrated, “Murphy said in a speech.
Closing the “boyfriend’s crack”
A 2021 store buyer in Orem, Utah, has a Glock pistol. (George Frey / Bloomberg via Getty Images)
While spouses, parents, or cohabiting couples convicted of domestic violence are already banned from buying firearms, abusers in relationships who are unmarried and living apart can still buy guns, creating the so-called “crack of the gun.” nuvi “. (According to Everytown, an arms security advocacy group, about 70 women are shot dead by an intimate partner each month.)
Under the new law, anyone convicted of domestic violence against an old or current partner would be prohibited from buying a weapon.
Republican negotiators pushed for a strict definition of who would qualify as a dating partner and the length of time they could not buy a weapon. The law would also not be applied retroactively, which means that someone should be convicted of domestic violence after the law comes into force before they are deprived of the right to buy a firearm.
“Unless someone is convicted of domestic abuse under their state laws, their gun rights will not be affected,” Cornyn said in a speech.
“Those convicted of a misdemeanor of non-marital domestic abuse, not a felony, but of minor domestic violence, will have the opportunity after five years to regain their Second Amendment rights. But they must have a clear history.” .
Extended background checks for younger buyers
A customer sees guns for sale at Knob Creek Gun Range in West Point, Kentucky, in 2021. (Jon Cherry / Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The legislation calls for an extension of background checks on buyers under the age of 21, providing three business days for the completion of their criminal and mental health background checks. If this background check finds something questionable in a potential buyer’s record, the legislation provides for an additional seven business days to investigate the buyer.
Funding for mental health and school safety
The bill provides funding to expand access to mental health services, including making it easier for Americans with Medicaid to use telehealth services and work with “providers and organizations that treat mental health and substance use disorders.” the community “. And it would provide additional funding for the National Suicide Prevention Hotline (since guns accounted for the majority of suicide deaths in 2020), while schools will receive funding to increase the number of staff providing suicide services. mental health.
The Robb Elementary School poster, covered in flowers and gifts on June 17 in Uvalde, Texas. (Brandon Bell / Getty Images)
The bill also provides $ 300 million for the STOP School Violence Act to increase safety in schools, although some Democrats had expressed concern about this aspect of the bill. Last week, Deputy Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, DN.Y., said she was concerned about “the expansion of background checks on juvenile records,” arguing that previous attempts to secure schools were both ineffective. and harmful.
After the 1998 shooting at Columbine High School in Colorado, Ocasio-Cortez said, “We hired thousands of police officers from the schools, and while we didn’t avoid many of the mass shootings we’ve seen now, The criminalization of teenagers in communities like mine has increased. “
Authorized dealers and arms trafficking
A customer buys an AR-15 cash rifle at a store in Orem, Utah, USA, on Thursday, March 25, 2021. (George Frey / Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The legislation would also require more vendors to register as “federally licensed firearms dealers,” including anyone who sells weapons to “predominantly make a profit.” These sellers, in turn, should perform background checks on potential buyers and keep track of sales.
The bill would also impose sanctions on “straw” buyers who buy weapons for people who cannot pass a background check.
Cover photo thumbnail illustration: Yahoo News; photos: Getty Images, Eric Baradat / AFP via Getty Images