US President Joe Biden on Sunday hailed restrictions from senators on curbing gun violence as “an important step”, noting that they did not accept his call for gun violence. more radical change.
“Obviously, it doesn’t do everything that I think is necessary, but it does reflect important steps in the right direction and will be the most important gun safety legislation passed by Congress in decades.” Biden said in a statement.
A bipartisan group of US senators, including enough Republicans to bypass the boardroom’s “bypass” rule, announced an agreement on a framework for potential gun safety legislation. .
The measure includes support for state “red flag” laws, stricter background checks for gun buyers under the age of 21, and a crackdown on so-called “straw buying” but without the gender restrictions. Other examples that Democrats and President Joe Biden have advocated include raising the age to buy semiautomatic rifles to 21 or new limits on assault-style rifles.
Ten Republicans have signaled support for the preliminary deal, suggesting the measure has the potential to lead to a pass vote and overcome barriers among other Republicans, who oppose most of it. all gun control measures.
The negotiations that led to the framework followed a series of famous mass shootings in the United States, including one at a school in Uvalde, Texas, last month that killed 19 young children and another also last month. 5 in Buffalo, New York, the supermarket kills 10 Black victims.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, issued a statement calling the plan a “good first step” and one that would “limit the ability of mass shooters to potential to quickly acquire an assault rifle by establishing an enhanced background check process for gun buyers under the age of 21.”
Schumer said he wants to move the bill quickly to a vote in the Senate once the legislative details are finalised.
The United States has the highest gun death rate of any rich country in the world. But it’s a country where many people love gun rights and the Second Amendment protects the right to “keep and bear arms.”
“Our plan saves lives while protecting the constitutional rights of law-abiding Americans,” the group led by Democrat Chris Murphy and Republican John Cornyn said in a statement. “We look forward to getting broad, bipartisan support and passing our usual proposal into law.”
The agreement was announced a day after tens of thousands of people in Washington and hundreds of other places across the country rallied to demand that lawmakers pass legislation to curb gun violence.
Biden, a Democrat, on June 2 called for a ban on sales of assault weapons and high-volume magazines, or, if that’s not possible, raising the minimum age to buy those weapons to 21 from 18. Biden was also forced to waive responsibility. The shield protects gun manufacturers from being sued for violence perpetrated by people carrying their guns.
The National Rifle Association, a gun rights group closely affiliated with Republicans, called Biden’s proposals a violation of the rights of law-abiding gun owners.
The Republican opposition has been critical of opposing Democratic-backed gun control proposals in Congress for decades.
The Senate is split, with 50 Democrats and 50 Republicans, and the legislation must have 60 votes to pass a maneuver known as the vote.
