The package represents the most important new federal legislation to address armed violence since the 10-year-old 10-year-old arms ban was lifted, though it does not ban any weapons and is a far cry from what Democrats and polls show. that most Americans want to see.
The critical vote on the federal gun safety bill came on the same day that the Supreme Court overturned a New York gun law enacted more than a century ago that restricts carrying a concealed pistol outside. from home.
The ruling highlights the conflicting political forces surrounding the issue at all levels of government, as the judiciary implements the widest expansion of arms rights in a decade, happening just when the legislature seems on the way. to Approve Its Most Important Weapons Security Package in Nearly a Decade 30 years.
A critical vote that requires GOP support
Thursday’s vote will be held to overcome a Republican obstruction and requires 60 votes to be successful, meaning at least 10 Republicans must join Democrats to vote in favor.
That is expected to happen, however, after 14 Republicans voted to advance the bill in an initial vote Tuesday night.
Once the Senate breaks a deadlock, it will pave the way for a final approval vote.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has called for the bill to be passed this week, although the exact timing of the final vote is yet to be determined. The final Senate vote could come on Thursday if all 100 senators agree to a temporary deal. It will take place with a simple majority threshold.
The House would then have to accept the bill before it could be signed into law. It is unclear how quickly the bill could pass both houses, but if the Senate holds a final vote Thursday evening, the House could pass the measure soon after.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said that if the Senate approves the gun security bill on Thursday, the House will meet and pass it on Thursday as well.
“We will try to do it today,” he said. “If they move it so fast, we’ll do it.”
Senate rules allow any senator to slow the process, and Schumer on Thursday called on Senate Republicans to work with Democrats to pass legislation “before the day is over.”
The legislation met after the tragic and recent mass shootings at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, and at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, which was located in a predominantly black neighborhood.
A bipartisan group of negotiators set to work in the Senate and introduced the legislative text on Tuesday. The bill, entitled Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, was passed by Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona.
Lawmakers are now struggling to pass the bill before leaving Washington for the July 4 recess.
The fact that the text of the bill has been finalized, and the legislation now seems about to be passed in the Senate, is a great victory for the negotiators who met to reach an agreement.
The bipartisan effort seemed to be on thin ice after several key points arose, but eventually the negotiators were able to resolve the issues that arose. The deal marks a rare case of compromise between party lines on one of Washington’s most controversial issues: a feat in today’s highly polarized political environment.
Reaching a bipartisan agreement on major arms legislation has been notoriously difficult for lawmakers in recent years, even in the face of countless mass shootings across the country.
“For too long, political games in Washington on both sides of the aisle have halted progress toward protecting our communities and keeping families safe,” Sinema said Wednesday in a Senate speech.
“Guilt and trade in political attacks has become the path of least resistance, but communities in our country that have experienced senseless violence deserve better than Washington politics as usual,” said the Democrat. ‘Arizona. “Our communities deserve the commitment of their leaders to do the hard work of putting politics aside, identifying issues that need to be addressed, and working together to achieve common ground and common goals.”
Key provisions of the bill
The bill includes $ 750 million to help states implement and execute crisis response programs. The money can be used to implement and manage red flag programs, which can temporarily prevent people in crisis from accessing firearms through a court order, and for other crisis intervention programs such as the courts of justice. mental health, drug courts and veterans courts.
This bill closes a gap in the domestic violence law – the “boyfriend’s crack” – that bans people who have been convicted of domestic violence offenses against married couples, or couples with whom they shared children or couples with whom they cohabited, from having guns. The old statutes did not include intimate partners who could not live together, be married, or share children. Now, the law will ban anyone with a gun who is convicted of a felony of domestic violence against someone with a “continued serious relationship of a romantic or intimate nature.”
The law is not retroactive. However, it will allow those convicted of domestic violence to restore their gun rights after five years if they have not committed other crimes.
The bill encourages states to include youth records in the National Instant Criminal Record Check System with grants, as well as to implement a new protocol to check these records.
The bill prosecutes people who sell guns as primary sources of income, but who have previously avoided registering as federally licensed firearms dealers. It also increases funding for mental health and school safety programs.
GOP split on the bill
There has been a split between some prominent members of the GOP leadership in the House and Senate.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has said he supports the bipartisan arms deal. But top House Republican leaders oppose the bill and urge its members to vote “no,” even as the Senate moves toward passing the bill this week.
But even with House Republican leaders opposing the bill, there are already some House Republicans who have indicated they plan to vote on it, and the Democratic-controlled House is expected to pass. legislation once passed in the Senate.
President Nancy Pelosi has pledged to “bring it to the House quickly” once it is approved by the Senate, “so that we can send it to President Biden’s desk.”
“While more is needed, this package must be quickly turned into law to help protect our children,” Pelosi said in a statement.
This story has been updated with additional news on Thursday.
CNN’s Daniella Diaz and Tierney Sneed contributed.