US senators agree on bipartisan gun control deal after recent mass shootings

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President Joe Biden meets with US Senator Chris Murphy (Democrat of Connecticut), about gun control outside the Oval Office on 7 June. Photograph: REX/Shutterstock

Joe Biden has encouraged US lawmakers to deliver a compromise on gun restrictions to his desk expeditiously, as a group of senators proposed a bipartisan framework in response to the mass shootings that occurred last month.

To the anticipated dismay of gun control supporters and many American citizens, the suggested agreement is a modest breakthrough that offers minimal gun restrictions while increasing efforts to improve school safety and mental health initiatives.

It falls well short of the stricter measures that President Joe Biden and many Democrats have long desired. Nonetheless, if the agreement leads to the passage of legislation, it would be a departure from years of gun tragedies that have achieved nothing except congressional gridlock.

Biden acknowledged the deal's shortcomings but praised and urged swift action.

Biden stated, "It does not do everything I believe is necessary, but it represents significant steps in the right direction and would be the most significant gun safety legislation to pass Congress in decades."

The president continued, "There are no justifications for the delay and no reason why the bill should not proceed swiftly through the Senate and House. Every day, more children are murdered in this nation; the sooner this bill reaches my desk, the sooner I can sign it, and the sooner we can implement these life-saving measures.

As a result of the recent mass killings in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas, a political movement has been sparked. Leaders seek to put any agreement into legislation fast – they hope this month – before this momentum is lost.

The agreement intends to make juvenile records of gun purchasers under 21 years old accessible during background checks. The suspects who murdered ten people at a grocery shop in Buffalo and 19 kids and two instructors at an elementary school in Uvalde were both 18 years old, as have been many of the perpetrators of mass shootings in recent years.

The agreement would provide funding to states for implementing "red flag" legislation that makes it easier to temporarily seize firearms from potentially violent individuals and strengthen school safety and mental health initiatives.

In addition, it would require more individuals who sell firearms to obtain federal licenses, which would require them to complete background checks on customers.

Publish : 2022-06-12 23:28:00

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