Finally, Congress has passed a landmark gun control bill.
"The House sent President Joe Biden the widest ranging gun violence bill Congress has passed in decades Friday, a measured compromise that at once illustrates progress on the long-intractable issue and the deep-seated partisan divide that persists." —Alan Fram
Every House Democrat and 14 Republicans were in favor of this legislation.
"The Democratic-led chamber approved the election-year legislation on a mostly party-line 234-193 vote, capping a spurt of action prompted by voters’ revulsion over last month’s mass shootings in New York and Texas. The Senate approved the measure late Thursday by a bipartisan 65-33 margin. Every House Democrat and 14 Republicans — six of whom won’t be in Congress next year — voted for the measure. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., underscored its significance to her party by taking the unusual step of presiding over the vote and announcing the result from the podium, to huzzahs from rank-and-file Democrats on the chamber’s floor." —Alan Fram
While this gun safety bill is historic, and it does outline very important regulations, my hope is that this is only the beginning: I believe that the rules—and regulations—should be even stricter, and so do many Democrats.
"The bill, crafted by senators from both parties, would incrementally toughen requirements for young people to buy guns, deny firearms from more domestic abusers and help local authorities temporarily take weapons from people judged to be dangerous. Most of its $13 billion cost would go to bolster mental health programs and for schools, which have been targeted in Newtown, Connecticut, Parkland, Florida and many other infamous massacres. It omits far tougher restrictions Democrats have long championed like a ban on assault-type weapons and background checks for all gun transactions, but is the most impactful firearms violence measure Congress has approved since enacting a now-expired assault weapons ban in 1993." —Alan Fram
Nonetheless, I am heartened that Congress has passed this legislation during a time when our country so desperately needs it and that members of both parties were able to find some common ground on the issue.
Congresswoman Lucy McBath, whose 17-year-old son was shot and killed in a 2017 shooting in Las Vegas, had some powerful words on the matter.
“This gives our community the sorely needed hope that we have been crying out for, for years and years and years...Understand and know that this bill does not answer all of our prayers, but this is hope.” —Congresswoman Lucy McBath
Many Americans echo her sentiments, myself included.
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