WASHINGTON – Senate negotiators announced Sunday that they had reached a bipartisan agreement on a small set of arms security measures with enough support to pass through the equitably divided chamber, an important step in ending a deadlock. Congress on the issue.
The agreement, presented by 10 Republicans and 10 Democrats and endorsed by President Biden and the top Democrats, includes improved background checks to give authorities time to check the mental and youth health records of any potential minor arms buyer. 21-year-old and a provision that, for the first time, would extend to dating couples a ban on domestic aggressors carrying weapons.
It would also provide funding to states to implement so-called red-flag laws that allow authorities to temporarily confiscate weapons from people considered dangerous, as well as money for mental health resources and to increase mental health and safety services in schools.
The scheme, which has not yet been finalized, is a far cry from the expanding reforms Mr Biden, gun control activists and most Democrats have long advocated, such as a ban on assault weapons and universal background checks. And it is by no means as comprehensive as a package of arms measures passed almost in line with the House last week, which would ban the sale of semi-automatic weapons to people under the age of 21, would ban the sale of magazines. high capacity and implement. a federal red flag law, among other measures.
But it is a remarkable step forward, given the party’s deep divisions over how to deal with armed violence and repeated failed efforts to pass arms reform at the Capitol, where Republicans have thwarted action for years. Democrats praised the plan, which would also tighten federal laws to stop arms trafficking and ensure that all commercial vendors do background checks, as an opportunity to pass the most important weapons security legislation in decades.
“Today, we announce a bipartisan, common-sense proposal to protect American children, keep our schools safe, and reduce the threat of violence across our country,” the 20 senators, led by Democrat Christopher S. Murphy of Connecticut, and John. Cornyn, a Republican from Texas, said in a joint statement. “Families are afraid and it is our duty to come together and do something to help them restore their sense of security in their communities.”
The support of 10 Republicans suggested that the plan could escalate an obstacle that no other proposal currently under discussion has been able to achieve: get the 60 votes needed to break the GOP obstruction and survive to see an upward vote or down in the Senate. pis.
Sen. Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican and minority leader who has played a central role in obstructing gun security measures in recent years, praised what he called “progress” in the talks. although he was not committed to whether he would support the package.
“The principles they have announced today show the value of dialogue and cooperation,” he said. McConnell. “I look forward to your discussions bringing a bipartisan product that will make significant progress on key issues such as mental health and school safety, respect the Second Amendment, gain broad support in the Senate and make a difference for our country.”
Attendees warned that until the legislation was finalized, it was not certain that each of the components could get the 60 votes needed to move forward.
The scheme includes a provision to address what is known as the “boyfriend’s loophole,” which would prohibit dating couples from carrying weapons if they had been convicted of domestic violence or were subject to a domestic violence restraining order. Currently, only domestic abusers who are married to, live with a child, or are parents with a victim are prohibited from carrying a firearm.
Republicans refused to include a provision to address the boyfriend’s rift in a reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, forcing Democrats to abandon it to pass legislation in March.
Mr. Biden urged Congress to pass a bill quickly, saying “there were no excuses for delaying it.”
“Every day that passes, more children die in this country,” he said. “The sooner it reaches my desktop, the sooner I can sign it and the sooner we can use these life-saving measures.”
The rare moment of bipartisan agreement came just under three weeks after a gun massacre at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, that killed 19 children and two teachers, and about a month after an attack on Racist shooting in Buffalo that killed 10 blacks in a supermarket. Consecutive mass shootings have brought the issue of armed violence to the forefront in Washington, where years of efforts to enact arms restrictions in the wake of those shootings have failed amid Republican opposition.
In an interview, Mr. Murphy said the Senate had taken advantage of a time when changes such as closing the groove of the groom, a provision that could not get 60 votes earlier this year, were suddenly possible. “Right now there’s a different mood in the American public,” he said. “There is a real panic among families and children because this country is getting out of control. This demand presented us with an opportunity.”
Mr. Murphy said his hope was that many more Republicans would end up supporting a bill and that it would help “get this dead end out and show the country what is possible.”
But as an indication of the political risks Republicans see in adopting even modest arms security measures, none of the 10 who endorsed Sunday’s deal faced voters this year. The group included four Republican senators who will leave Congress later this year — Roy Blunt of Missouri, Richard Burr of North Carolina, Rob Portman of Ohio, and Patrick J. Toomey of Pennsylvania — and five who are not running for re-election. . for four more years: Mr. Cornyn, Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Susan Collins of Maine and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. Utah Sen. Mitt Romney will face voters in 2024.
“I worked closely with my colleagues to find an agreement to protect our communities from violence and at the same time protect the right of law-abiding jeans to bear arms,” Mr. Cornyn in a statement on Twitter.
Democrats who signed Sunday’s statement included Mr. Murphy, Senator Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Cory Booker of New Jersey, Chris Coons of Delaware, Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, Mark Kelly of Arizona, Joe Manchin III of West Virginia and Debbie Stabenow of Michigan. They were joined by Angus King, the independent of Maine. Mr. Blumenthal and Mr. Kelly is running for re-election in November.
The deal was announced on the sixth anniversary of the mass shooting at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, where a gunman killed 49 people in what was then the deadliest shooting in modern U.S. history.
Negotiators now need to translate the broad principles of the framework into a legislative text, a much more complex process, and ensure sufficient support in both chambers for legislation to become law.
New York Sen. ‘epidemic of armed violence that has affected our country.’
“We need to move quickly to move this legislation forward, because if one life can be saved, it’s worth the effort,” Mr. Schumer in a statement.
Arms security activists said they saw the measures as significant progress that they hoped would unlock a new era of bipartisanship on the issue.
“The fact that such a large group is coming together to achieve this shows that we are at a historic moment,” said T. Christian Heyne, Brady’s Vice President of Policy: United Against Gun Violence. “It seems like a critical initial step for what I hope will be a new era in the prevention of armed violence.”
Mr. Heyne said closing the dating couple’s gap, in particular, has long been one of her organization’s top priorities. “All of these things individually are significant,” Mr. Heyne. “When you look at them together, it feels pretty significant.”
As pressure has increased for Congress to act in recent days, about a dozen senators, including veterans of failed attempts to reach similar agreements, have gathered in Zoom, by telephone, and in the basement offices at the Capitol. Hill to reach an agreement before the Senate leaves. a recess scheduled for July 4th.
Party leaders expressed support for the talks, although Mr. Schumer warned that he would not allow them to last until the summer before forcing the vote on arms control measures. Mr. Murphy asked Mr. Schumer postponed the scheduling of votes on broader gun control legislation passed by the House that Republicans were opposed to giving rise to talks, and repeatedly warned that the main ones should be abandoned. priorities of your party to ensure what is needed. GOP support for any commitments.
Last week, the House voted almost in line with party lines to pass a much more substantial gun control law, including raising the age to buy semi-automatic weapons and banning magazines containing more than 15 rounds of ammunition. such as the federal red flag law. . With all but a handful of opposing Republicans, none of the measures had any chance of approval in the Senate.
As an indication of the political risks Republicans see in supporting gun control measures, all five House Republicans who supported that legislation are also leaving Congress this year.
One of them, Rep. Chris Jacobs, a New York Republican, abruptly dropped his re-election candidacy for his suburban Buffalo district after facing backlash over a federal gun ban. assault.
“We really need to work to restore some confidence, to soften the rhetoric on both sides, so that we can really achieve …