On Wednesday, Senate leadership lauded a settlement between Republican and Democratic officials on legislation to prevent gun violence.
It portrayed the plan as a move in the right direction, despite opposition from its far-left and far-right fringes.
On Tuesday, a bipartisan group of Senate officials, including Sens. Chris Murphy (D-CT) and John Cornyn (R-TX), published the text of their bill
The bill would provide financing for states to adopt red flag laws or other emergency prevention precautions, improve some background checks, and close the so-called boyfriend loop.
This is a gap in federal law prohibiting spouses, but not courting partners, found guilty of domestic abuse from owning firearms.
Fuck every “Republican” who just voted to fund Red Flag Laws
— Ashley St. Clair (@stclairashley) June 22, 2022
Additionally, the law would provide financing for some mental health programs and school security measures.
The conversations followed a spate of recent shooting incidents, including one at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.
Before the End of the Week
On Wednesday, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer stated on the Senate floor that he expects the bill to be passed before the end of the week.
Schumer said 64 senators voted on Tuesday to start talking about the bill, which shows it has enough support to get past the 60-vote filibuster barrier.
The historic gun safety legislation will pass the Senate with a Bi Partisan vote that is more than the needed 60. My heart is bursting today and candidly having a hard time not being emotional over how big a deal this is. https://t.co/XooIr9F198
— Fred Guttenberg (@fred_guttenberg) June 22, 2022
Liberal activists who wanted a stronger response to the Uvalde shooting criticized Schumer and House Democrats.
For example, the recent House measure that raised the minimum age to buy some semi-automatic guns from 18 to 21 was seen as too weak of a response.
However, some of the Senate Republicans’ supporters, such as the National Rifle Association, criticized their agreement with Democrats.
Guests of the Texas GOP conference recently jeered Cornyn for his efforts on the measure.
Inconsistent With the Second Amendment
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) contended the Senate has not managed to pass gun laws after similar shootings.
This is because Republicans believed Democrats were adamant about proposals they viewed as inconsistent with the Second Amendment. However, Democrats demonstrated greater flexibility in this negotiation.
McConnell stated on the Senate floor, “In recent times, our Democratic counterparts have signaled they are not interested in serious legislation to promote safer neighborhoods unless they are allowed to take large chunks out of the Second Amendment.
“After awful instances in the past, there were attempts and bipartisan conversations. Yet, they failed because Democrats refused to support anything that would not take down the Bill of Rights for law-abiding citizens.”
McConnell stated the bill would provide states with the funding to install crisis preventive measures, mental health resources, and extra school safety precautions “of their own choosing.”
The measure’s cloture vote will occur on Thursday, preceded by up to 30 hours of debate. If no deal is reached to reduce this window of time, the bill is expected to pass late Friday.
The House may consider the bill as early as this weekend.
