The Senate voted to pass a bipartisan gun safety bill on Thursday in response to last month’s mass shootings in Uvalde, Texas, and Buffalo, New York, the most significant and sweeping federal legislation to address gun violence in decades.
After years of clashes in Congress over gun rights between Democrats and Republicans, and after countless mass shootings – including those in Newtown, Conn., Parkland, Fla., El Paso, Texas, Orlando, Fla., and Las Vegas – members of both parties banded together to forge a compromise in the wake of last month’s rampages in Texas and New York.
Led by Texas Sen. John Cornyn, a Republican, and Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy, a Democrat, bipartisan talks on the legislation began in the aftermath of the deadly massacres last month and quickly gained steam in the weeks that followed, culminating in the release of a framework in mid-June backed by 10 Democrats and 10 Republicans – enough to overcome the Senate’s filibuster threshold, which had frequently derailed gun rights legislation in the past.
Murphy, a longtime gun advocate who previously represented Newtown, Conn., the site of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre, in the House, and Cornyn, who was tapped by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., in the wake of the Uvalde shooting, were joined by Sens. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., and Thom Tillis, R-N.Y., in forging a bipartisan compromise on the legislation.
“This will become the most significant piece of anti-gun-violence legislation Congress has passed in three decades,” Murphy said on the Senate floor ahead of the vote. “This bill also has the chance to prove to the weary American public that democracy is not so broken, that it is able to rise to the moment.”
“I don’t believe in doing nothing in the face of what we’ve seen in Uvalde and other communities,” Cornyn said. “Doing nothing is an abdication of our responsibility.”
The final vote on the measure was 65-33, with 15 Republicans joining the unanimous Democratic caucus in passing the incremental, yet significant legislation. The bill marks the first federal gun reform legislation in nearly 30 years.
The 80-page, $13 billion bill, known as the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, includes:
- Enhanced background checks for gun buyers aged 18 and 21
- Closing the so-called “boyfriend loophole,” which would extend a ban on those convicted of domestic abuse from buying guns to dating partners who are not living with the victim
- Funding to allow states to set up red flag laws, restrictions which allow police, family members or other individuals to seek a court order to allow authorities to remove firearms from those considered to be a danger to themself or others
- Imposing tougher restrictions on straw purchases and gun trafficking
- Funding for school safety and mental health programs
While the bill falls short of what many gun safety advocates and Democrats have asked for – including a ban on military-style assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines and enacting universal background checks – firearm reform backers cheered the move as a step in the right direction.
“This is not a cure-all for the all the ways gun violence affects our nation,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said. “But it is a long overdue step in the right direction. It’s significant, it’s going to save lives.”
McConnell, R-Ky., who supported the bill, called it “a package of commonsense and popular solutions to make these horrific incidents less likely.”
The Republican lawmakers who voted with Democrats were: Sens. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., Richard Burr, R-N.C., Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., Bill Cassidy, R-La., Susan Collins, R-Maine, John Cornyn, R-Texas, Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, Rob Portman, R-Ohio, Mitt Romney, R-Utah, Thom Tillis, R-N.C., Pat, Toomey, R-Pa., and Todd Young, R-Ind.
The measure now heads to the Democratic-led ouse of Representatives, which is expected to take the measure up on Friday in order to send it to President Joe Biden’s desk quickly.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., pledged to pass the measure “swiftly” despite opposition from House Republican leadership.
“Every day, gun violence steals lives and scars communities — and this crisis demands urgent action,” Pelosi wrote in a statement after the bill passed the Senate. “While we must do more, the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act is a step forward that will help protect our children and save lives.
“First thing tomorrow morning, the Rules Committee will meet to advance this life-saving legislation to the Floor,” she added. “When the Rules Committee finishes its business, we will head immediately to the Floor. And we will send the bill to President Biden for his signature, with gratitude for his leadership.”
A number of House Republicans, including Rep. Tony Gonzales, a lawmaker from Uvalde, Texas, and New York Rep. John Katko, have expressed that they will break ranks to support the bill.
In an emotional Twitter post, Gonzales, describing himself as a “survivor of domestic abuse,” wrote that he looked forward to voting for the bill: “As a Congressman it’s my duty to pass laws that never infringe on the Constitution while protecting the lives of the innocent.”
The vote came just hours after the Supreme Court’s conservative majority struck down a New York concealed carry restriction, greatly expanding the rights of Americans to carry firearms in public, marking a mixed day for gun safety reform advocates.
