The plan, praised by President Joe Biden, includes support for state red flag laws holding firearms by potentially dangerous individuals, stricter criminal history checks for arms buyers under the age of 21 and a crackdown on “straw purchases” by people buying weapons for others who could not pass a history check. Built after last month’s massacre at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, and at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, the framework is far less ambitious than the proposals made by Biden and other Democrats to ban semi-automatic assault weapons. and high-capacity magazines or at least increase the minimum age limit for their purchase from 18 to 21. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy, who led the negotiating effort with Republican Sen. John Cornin, said “the heavy lifting is behind us” after three weeks of intensive talks, although “significant workload” remains. Murphy said he hoped the Senate would pass in early August or earlier. “We will get to work writing a (legislative) text first thing (Monday) in the morning,” Murphy told Reuters. The deal was announced a day after tens of thousands of people demonstrated in Washington and the United States to urge lawmakers to pass legislation to curb armed violence. read more Although it is a significant breakthrough, the agreement does not guarantee the adoption of legislation. Lawmakers still need to find legislative language that can attract enough votes to pass both the Senate and House of Representatives, each of which is tightly controlled by Democrats. The Republican opposition has played a key role in thwarting Democrat-backed gun control proposals in Congress dating back to the 1994 vote on a weapons embargo that expired a decade later. The United States has the highest rate of gun deaths among the richest countries in the world. But it is a country where many love gun rights, and a second amendment to its constitution protects the right to “bear and bear arms.” Sunday’s announcement marks the most progress in arms reform talks in Congress since 2013, when legislation failed in the Senate following a Connecticut elementary school massacre in 2012. Murphy, who represents Connecticut , has devoted much of his ten-year career in the Senate to gun control after that tragedy. “Our plan saves lives, while also protecting the constitutional rights of law-abiding Americans,” Murphy and Cornyn said in a joint statement. The group that agreed to the framework included 10 Republicans, nine Democrats and an independent who is on a Democratic parliamentary group. Protesters hold placards as they take part in the March for Our Lives, one of a series of national demonstrations against gun violence in Washington, DC, USA, June 11, 2022. REUTERS / Joshua Roberts read more A spokesman for the National Rifle Association said the firearms rights group would not take a position on the framework until the detailed legislation was finalized. He said the NRA would oppose any attempt to deprive the Americans of their weapons rights. Proponents of her case have been working to make the actual transcript of this statement available online. Proponents of her case have been working to make the actual transcript of this statement available online. “There was a conventional wisdom that politicians understood that you could not pass the NRA. Otherwise you would pay,” Christian Heyne, vice president of policy for the Brady Arms Control Group, told Reuters.
FILIBUSTER LIMIT
With 10 Republicans showing support, that would go beyond the “Philippaster” Senate rule, which requires 60 of the 100 senators to agree to pass more legislation. Republicans who oppose the plan are expected to create procedural obstacles in an effort to prevent it. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell did not endorse the framework, but said he hoped for progress in the bipartisan talks. Biden welcomed Sunday’s agreement. “It does not do everything I think is needed, but it reflects important steps in the right direction and would be the most important gun safety legislation to be passed in Congress in decades,” Biden said in a statement. “With bipartisan support, there are no excuses for the delay, no reason why it should not go quickly to the Senate and Parliament.” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Sumer said he wanted to pass a bill as soon as the legislative details were finalized. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also backed the deal, saying in a statement: “While more is needed, this package will take steps to save lives.” The measure will provide federal funding to encourage states to pass “red flag” laws that keep guns away from people who are considered by the courts to be a significant danger to themselves or others. Congress will provide more funding for the expansion of mental health programs, including those running in schools, and will fight those who evade gun licensing requirements or buy illegal weapons on behalf of others – transactions called “straw purchases.” The plan would also require new government checks on people under the age of 21 trying to buy weapons so that juvenile mental health records could be reviewed, along with checks with state and local law enforcement authorities. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Report by Richard Cowan in Washington and Brendan O’Brien in Chicago. Editing: Will Dunham and Scott Malone Our role models: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
