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The Senate pulled off a major milestone late Thursday: passing a gun safety package for the first time in nearly 30 years after decades of failed attempts and congressional gridlock.
Congress looks poised to break its repetitive cycle of promising reforms following horrific shootings that lead to inaction and fruitless efforts after most Republicans remained opposed to such legislation. But recent mass shootings in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas, ended that streak.
Instead of immediately voting on House-passed bills that are stalled in the Senate, Democrats – led by gun control advocate Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut – pursued negotiations with Republicans to strike a compromise that could realistically pass a split 50-50 Senate and garner substantial GOP support.
Less than three weeks after the Uvalde school shooting, a negotiating group of four senators as well as a larger coalition of 20 found a compromise that could satisfy some priorities from both parties. On Thursday, the Senate passed the “Bipartisan Safer Communities Act” in a 65-33 vote, with all Democrats and 15 Republicans supporting it.
“As we take the final steps in this process, few could have anticipated we’d reach this point just a few weeks ago,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said. “As difficult as that may have seemed to many over the past four weeks … we chose to try and get something done.”
A legislative response looked particularly promising after the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and GOP Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania crafted a bipartisan bill to expand background checks, but it fell short a year later – and never got revived.
After the worst school shooting to occur in the nearly 10 years since Sandy Hook, the Senate saw significant momentum, even more notably just months out from a pivotal midterm election where Republicans look poised to make major gains and potentially take back majorities.
The bill, however, doesn’t go as far as Democrats wanted since Republicans won’t support more substantial restrictions on guns like universal background checks, a renewed federal assault rifle ban, a prohibition on high-capacity magazines or raising the age limit from 18 to 21 for buying certain semi-automatic firearms. Republicans, meanwhile, wanted to focus more on increased funding for mental health services and greater school security instead of limitations to guns themselves.
The legislation enhances background checks for individuals seeking to buy firearms under age 21, provides $500 million in funding for more mental health service providers in schools, and incentivizes state “red flag” laws, which allow a court to temporarily block people from buying guns if they’re a threat to themselves or others.
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An unexpected addition to the bill is a provision closing the “boyfriend loophole” to prevent individuals from purchasing a firearm if they’ve been convicted of domestic abuse against a dating partner. Those charged with a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence would get their rights restored after five years if they’re a first-time offender and don’t have other convictions.
Still, it’s a significant step since Congress hasn’t passed any major gun reforms since 1994. The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act – championed by Schumer when he served in the House – required federal background checks for purchase firearms from a federally licensed dealer. A year later, as part of the 1994 crime bill, Congress instituted a 10-year assault rifle ban that has since expired.
Notably hours before the Senate made progress on a package to curb gun violence, the Supreme Court struck down a New York state law that restricted who could obtain a concealed carry permit for a handgun and required individuals to show “proper cause.”
Now that the bill has cleared the Senate, the House is expected to take up the legislation on Friday before Congress departs for the July 4 recess. But Republican support will likely look very different between the two chambers.
In the Senate, Republican backing ranged from moderates to conservatives – including a few members of leadership, like Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. And two of the supportive GOP senators are running for reelection this fall: Sen. Todd Young of Indiana and Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who faces a number of challengers in the Aug. 16 primary.
“Doing nothing is an abdication of our responsibility,” said Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, the lead negotiator for Republicans. “At the same time, I reiterated my bottom line, which is I would not support any provisions that infringed on the rights of law-abiding gun owners.”
But in the House, GOP leaders are urging their colleagues to vote against the bipartisan bill, though there are still some lawmakers – many who are retiring this term – who plan to support such reforms.
The legislation is still expected to pass both chambers, which will send it to President Joe Biden’s desk for him to sign it into law.
“It’s taken a decade, because for too long Congress has failed to make meaningful progress on gun safety reform. Our country has endured too many tragedies since then, most recently with the horrific shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde,” Biden said in a Thursday statement before the vote.
“I am glad to see Congress has moved significantly closer to finally doing something,” he added, “passing bipartisan legislation that will help protect Americans.”