A group of US senators from both parties announced this Sunday an agreement in principle to establish a more severe regulation on weapons in response to the mass killings in a supermarket in Buffalo (New York) and in an elementary school in Uvalde (Texas) . These security measures theoretically have enough support to get ahead even in a 50/50 Senate and represent a step forward on an issue that has been stalled for some time.
The plan has the support of ten Republican senators and ten Democrats and would include funds to provide resources for mental health care, promote more security measures in schools and implement the so-called “red flag” laws that allow the authorities Confiscate weapons from those who are considered dangerous. It would also mean, if approved, the extension of the requirements established in criminal records and the inclusion of those juvenile records for anyone who wants to buy a gun before the age of 21.
One of the key elements is the inclusion of what is known as the “boyfriend gap”, which would prohibit the person with whom you have a relationship (whether married or not) from owning a gun if they have been convicted of domestic violence. This framework establishes that it will be taken into account in the record if an individual has restraining orders for domestic violence.
The agreements reached are quite far from what President Joe Biden had requested. Activists calling for more gun control and most congressional Democrats are behind measures like banning the sale of assault rifles. The plan also lags well behind legislation passed by the House last week banning the sale of semi-automatic weapons to those under 21. The gunmen from Buffalo and Uvalde, both 18, acquired their AR-15s legally, without hindrance. This legislation has no future in the Senate.
The White House released a statement from Biden in which he thanked the Democratic senators involved in this proposal for their efforts, although he clarified that “there is not everything that I think is needed.” Despite this comment, the president stressed that “it reflects an important step in the right direction and would be the most significant gun safety law passed by Congress in decades.”
According to this statement, “with bipartisan support there is no excuse, and no reason, for the Senate to move quickly.” And he added: “every day that passes, more children are killed in this country, the sooner the proposal is on my table, the sooner I will sign it and we can use these measures to save lives.”
The main negotiator of the agreement for the Democrats is Senator Chris Murphy, one of the staunchest fighters in this matter of arms control. For the Republicans, the leadership is at the expense of John Cornyn, a staunch defender of the second amendment (establishes the right to have weapons), who argued that these measures will not affect law-abiding Americans. The final proposal has not yet been drafted.
“Today we are announcing a bipartisan common sense proposal to protect America’s children, keep our schools safe and reduce the threat of violence in our country,” Murphy, Cornyn and other senators wrote in a joint statement.
“Families are terrified and it is our duty to come together and do something to help restore a sense of safety and security to communities,” they added.
