A bipartisan group of 20 senators led by Chris Murphy (D-CT) and John Cornyn (R-TX) announced that they had reached a deal on an outline to reform gun laws, following mass shootings in Buffalo, New York and Uvalde, Texas.
In a statement, the group wrote “Today, we are announcing a commonsense, bipartisan proposal to protect America’s children, keep our schools safe and reduce the threat of violence across our country. Families are scared, and it is our duty to come together and get something done that will help restore their sense of safety and security in their communities.”
The proposed legislation, which hasn’t been written yet, would include various gun reform measures, including incentives and resources for states to pass “red flag” laws which would allow family members or law enforcement to keep firearms away from individuals that are deemed as a safety risk to themselves and others; it would boost mental health resources; properly define what a federally listed firearms dealer is in federal law; increase mental health support and funding; crack down on gun trafficking, among other things.
The House recently passed sweeping gun reform legislation that would raise the legal age to purchase a semi-automatic weapon from 18 to 21 years old, ban large capacity magazines and incentivizes the safe storage of firearms. The new Senate bill is more likely to pass as it has the vote of 10 Republicans, allowing to pass the filibuster proof majority, unlike the House’s bill.
Shortly after the bloc announced the legislation, President Biden issued a statement, “I want to thank Senator Chris Murphy and the members of his bipartisan group—especially Senators Cornyn, Sinema, and Tillis—for their tireless work to produce this proposal. Obviously, it does not do everything that I think is needed, but it reflects important steps in the right direction, and would be the most significant gun safety legislation to pass Congress in decades. With bipartisan support, there are no excuses for delay, and no reason why it should not quickly move through the Senate and the House. Each day that passes, more children are killed in this country: the sooner it comes to my desk, the sooner I can sign it, and the sooner we can use these measures to save lives.”
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said in a statement “I continue to hope their discussions yield a bipartisan product that makes significant headway on key issues like metal health and school safety, respect the Second Amendment, earns broad support in the Senate, and makes a difference for our country,”