A bipartisan package of modest arms security measures was approved Thursday afternoon in the U.S. Senate, although the country’s Supreme Court has broadly extended gun rights in ruling that Americans have the right. constitutional requirement to carry handguns in public for self-defense.
Key points:
- The modest bill is the first major federal gun control legislation passed in three decades
- The Supreme Court ruling overturns New York State limits on hidden guns
- Democrats warn the ruling will have implications for gun security across the country
The simultaneous historic court ruling and Senate action on gun safety illustrate the deep division over firearms in the United States, weeks after the mass shootings in Uvalde, Texas, and Buffalo, New York, kill more than 30 people, including 19 children.
The Senate bill, passed in a vote of 65 to 33, is the first significant piece of legislation on arms control passed in three decades, in a country with the highest per capita gun ownership in the world and the highest number. great annual mass traits among rich nations.
“This is not a cure for the ways in which armed violence affects our nation, but it is a long-awaited step in the right direction,” Chuck Schumer, leader of the Democratic majority in the Senate, said before the vote.
The bill, which supporters say will save lives, is modest: its more severe restriction on gun ownership would strengthen background checks for potential gun buyers convicted of domestic violence or major crimes as minors. .
The recent shooting in Uvalde, Texas, as well as in Buffalo, New York, prompted the President of the United States to demand that politicians respond. (Reuters: Jeenah Moon)
Republicans refused to commit to more radical gun control measures favored by Democrats, including President Joe Biden, such as banning assault rifles or high-capacity magazines.
In the Senate vote on Thursday afternoon, 15 Republicans joined the 50 Democrats to vote on the bill.
It will then be passed in the House of Representatives, where Democrats have a majority and is expected to pass despite House Republicans ordering its members to oppose it.
Following the approval of the House, Biden will sign the bill.
The Senate action came weeks after a passionate speech by Mr Biden, in which he declared “enough” of armed violence and urged politicians to act.
Surveys show that most Americans support new limits on firearms, demands that often increase after mass shootings like those that occurred in Texas and New York.
The Senate’s 80-page Bipartisan Safer Communities Act would encourage states to keep guns out of the hands of those considered dangerous and would strengthen background checks on potential gun buyers convicted of domestic violence or significant crimes. as minors.
The court overturns the limits on hidden guns
Thursday’s Supreme Court ruling, driven by its Conservative majority, overturned New York State’s limits for carrying concealed weapons outside the home.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruling was passed by its conservative majority. (Supplied by United States Supreme Court Collection)
The court held that the law, enacted in 1913, violated a person’s right to “bear and bear arms” under the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Democrats warned Thursday’s Supreme Court ruling could have dire consequences for gun security across the country.
“The Supreme Court erred in sentencing,” Senator Chris Murphy, a senior Democratic negotiator on arms security legislation, said in an interview.
“I am deeply concerned about the court’s willingness to remove elected bodies from the ability to protect our constituents and this has serious implications for the security of our country,” said Senator Murphy, whose hometown is Connecticut. , where there were 26 people. murdered in a shooting in 2012 at an elementary school.
Conservatives advocate a broad reading of the Second Amendment, which they say limits most new restrictions on arms purchases.
NRA declares “a monumental victory”
The Supreme Court ruling, written by Conservative Judge Clarence Thomas, stated that the U.S. Constitution protects “a person’s right to carry a gun for self-defense outside the home.”
“This is a monumental victory for NRA members and gun owners across the country,” Jason Ouimet, executive director of the Rifle Association’s National Institute for Legislative Action, said in a communiqué.
“This ruling opens the door to properly change the law to the remaining seven states that do not yet recognize the right to carry a firearm for personal protection.”
More than 20,800 people will die from armed violence in the United States in 2022, including homicide and suicide, according to the Gun Violence Archive, a nonprofit research group.
The bill does not erode gun rights: Republicans
In the Senate, Republican supporters of the new gun security bill said the measure does not erode the rights of law-abiding gun owners, who are among its most ardent voters.
“It doesn’t even affect the rights of the overwhelming majority of U.S. gun owners, who are law-abiding citizens with a healthy mind,” said Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, who supports the legislation.
The bill provides funding to help states pass “red flag” laws to keep guns out of the hands of those who consider themselves a danger to themselves or others.
It would also fund alternative intervention measures in states where they oppose red-flag laws and provide for improved school safety.
It closes the “groove of the groom” by denying the purchase of weapons to convicts for abusing their intimate partners in dating relationships, although if they have no further convictions or sanctions they will be allowed to buy again.
It also allows states to add juvenile criminal and mental health records to national background checks databases.
Senator John Cornyn, the main Republican negotiator on the bill, was booed last week while discussing its contents during a speech before a Republican Party convention in his home state of Texas.
ABC / children