WASHINGTON – A group of Republicans and Democrats in the Senate on Tuesday released a compromise bill aimed at protecting firearms from the hands of dangerous people, taking a significant step to overcome long-standing stalemate in Congress on how to tackle gun violence.
Although the legislation does not meet the broad arms control measures required by Democrats, if passed, it will be the most significant action in decades to revise national weapons laws.
The 80-page bill will strengthen past checks, giving authorities up to 10 working days to review juvenile and mental illness records of gun buyers under the age of 21 and pour federal dollars to help states enforce so-called red flag laws. which allow the authorities to temporarily confiscate weapons from people considered dangerous. The measure will also, for the first time, ensure that serious dating partners are included in a federal law that prohibits domestic abusers from buying firearms.
Senators also agreed to provide millions of dollars to expand mental health resources in communities and schools in addition to funding for school safety. In addition, the law will increase penalties for those who evade licensing requirements or make illegal purchases of “straw”, purchase and subsequent sale of weapons to people who are prohibited from buying guns.
The Senate is expected to pass the law on Tuesday night, with lawmakers hoping to approve it before the scheduled break for July 4th. With a framework publicly backed by 10 Republicans and 10 Democrats, as well as President Biden and Senator Mitch McConnell, the minority leader, the measure appears to have enough support to overcome the 60-vote threshold needed to move forward in the evenly divided House. But contributors warned that details would be crucial in determining the final vote.
Both Senate leaders quickly issued statements of public support for the legislation. Mr McConnell called it “a sensible package of popular steps that will help make these horrific incidents less likely, while fully upholding the rights of the Second Amendment for law-abiding citizens”.
New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, the leader of the majority, has vowed to move forward with a quick test vote on the package. “This bipartisan arms security legislation is progress and will save lives,” he said. “While this is not all we want, this legislation is urgently needed.
The shock of the talks has been sparked by two mass shootings in the past two months: a massacre at a primary school in Uwalde, Texas that killed 19 children and two teachers, and a racist attack that killed 10 blacks at a Buffalo supermarket. Human devastation has brought the issue of gun violence to the forefront of Capitol Hill, where years of efforts to impose gun restrictions following such attacks have failed amid Republican opposition.
After announcing their agreement on a bipartisan scheme less than two weeks ago, the leading negotiators, Senators Christopher C. Murphy of Connecticut and Kirsten Cinema of Arizona, both Democrats, and John Cornin of Texas and Tom Tillis of North Carolina, both Republicans – spent hours forging details and working to keep their fragile coalition together.
“Obviously these were difficult negotiations, but they were incredibly productive and meaningful,” Mr Murphy said on Tuesday before the legislation was published. “And, you know, I’m proud of the place we get to.”
Last week, however, negotiations repeatedly loomed on the brink of failure as lawmakers struggled in late-night meetings and talks on how to translate their outlines into a legislative text. The group spent the three-day weekend shopping for the details of the measure.
“It was insanely slow for everyone, but I think we are ready,” said Mr. Cornin, referring to the evening meeting of the Republican leadership.
Two provisions have proved particularly disappointing in recent days of negotiations: whether to extend red flag enforcement to countries that do not have such laws, and how exactly to identify a boyfriend or intimate partner, as lawmakers sought to close what he has becomes known as the “boyfriend door”. Current legislation prohibits only domestic abusers who have been married or have lived with the victim, or have had a child with them, from buying firearms.
The negotiators agreed to allow dating partners convicted of a crime to regain the right to buy weapons after five years, provided they are perpetrators for the first time and are not found guilty of another violent crime or violation, he said. Mr. Cornin in the Senate.
And lawmakers have agreed to give states access to federal funds either to enforce recognized laws or to establish what Mr. Cornin described as “crisis intervention programs.”
“Under the bill, each state will be able to use significant new federal dollars to expand its programs to try to stop dangerous people, people contemplating mass murder or suicide, from accessing weapons that allow them to to commit this crime, “Mr Murphy said in a Senate speech.
The road to President Biden’s desk remains rocky. Republicans on and off Capitol Hill expressed horror at the scope of the measure, and Texas Republicans booed Mr. Cornin and moved officially to “reproach” him and eight other Republicans for their role in the talks. And some Democrats, especially in the House of Representatives, where they have proposed much more ambitious legislation on gun reform, have expressed concern about the idea of ”hardening” schools or condemning the fight against mental health.
Weapons security activists praised the agreement, although it did not achieve many of their goals.
“This bipartisan legislation meets the most important test: it will save lives,” said John Feinblatt, president of Everytown Weapons Security. “We are now one step closer to overcoming the 26-year-old difficulty that has blocked congressional action to protect Americans from gun violence.
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