WASHINGTON – A bipartisan group of senators said Sunday it has an agreement in principle on gun control legislation, though the lawmakers did not provide specific and detailed legislation.
“Families are scared, and it is our duty to come together and get something done that will help restore their sense of safety and security in their communities,” a group of 20 senators said in a statement that outlined their plan.
Ten of the signers were Republicans – the number needed to break a GOP filibuster on the package.
The group said its plan “increases needed mental health resources, improves school safety and support for students, and helps ensure dangerous criminals and those who are adjudicated as mentally ill can’t purchase weapons.”
Lawmakers who have long sought to tighten the nation’s gun laws redoubled their efforts after the recent mass killings at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.
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Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called the agreement “a good first step,” and added that “we must move swiftly to advance this legislation because if a single life can be saved it is worth the effort.”
The proposal is vastly more limited than changes pushed by President Joe Biden to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, add universal background checks and raise the minimum age to buy guns to 21 years old. Still, he urged immediate passage in both chambers.
“Obviously, it does not do everything that I think is needed,” Biden said, “but it reflects important steps in the right direction, and would be the most significant gun safety legislation to pass Congress in decades.”
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Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., issued a tepid statement praising the work of negotiators, but not specifically endorsing their proposal.
“I continue to hope their discussions yield a bipartisan product that makes significant headway on key issues like mental health and school safety, respects the Second Amendment, earns broad support in the Senate, and makes a difference for our country,” he said.
The senators who signed the statement included the four who led the negotiations: Chris Murphy, D-Conn.; John Cornyn, R-Texas; Thom Tillis, R-N.C.; and Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz. The others are: Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.; Roy Blunt, R-Mo.; Cory Booker, D- N.J.; Richard Burr, R-N.C.; Bill Cassidy, R-La.; Susan Collins, R-Maine; Chris Coons, D-Del.; Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.; Martin Heinrich, D-N.M.; Mark Kelly, D-Ariz.; Angus King, I-Maine; Joe Manchin, D-W.Va.; Rob Portman, R-Ohio; Mitt Romney, R-Utah; Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., and Pat Toomey, R-Pa.
There is reduced chance of political blowback for the Republicans who signed the proposal; four of the 10 GOP senators are retiring this year. Another five are not up for re-election until 2026. The 10th, Romney, often goes his own way.
Murphy, an especially vocal proponent of new gun laws since the 2012 mass killings at an elementary school in his home state of Connecticut, called the deal “a breakthrough agreement on gun violence – the first in 30 years – that will save lives.”
What’s in the gun legislation deal?
The group said its proposal includes:
- Support for state crisis intervention
- Investment in children and family mental health services
- Protections for victims of domestic violence
- Funding for school-based mental health and supportive services
- Funding for school safety resources
- Clarification of definition of federally licensed firearms dealer
- Telehealth investments
- Penalties for straw purchasing
The plan also calls for an “enhanced review process” for young gun buyers.
“For buyers under 21 years of age, requires an investigative period to review juvenile and mental health records, including checks with state databases and local law enforcement,” the statement said.
House action on gun bills
House lawmakers voted last week to raise from 18 to 21 the minimum age to buy semi-automatic rifles, following a day of poignant testimony from survivors of mass shootings, including a fourth-grader, a mother taking care of her wounded son and parents who lost a 10-year-old daughter.
The House approved, on a party-line vote, the age change as part of a package of gun reform measures that also would clamp down on gun trafficking, ban bump stocks and require safe storage of firearms. The bill, known as the Protecting Our Kids Act, heads to the Senate where it’s not expected to pass because Republicans have enough votes to block gun legislation.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., told CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday that all options on the table must be looked at closely regarding guns.
“I think we need to really look at the text. And once we look at that text, I think we’ll be able to see if this legislation has been responsibly put together, and I hope it is my hope that it has been,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
She hopes to vote yes on the gun legislation deal announced Sunday from a group of senators.
Rep. Chris Jacobs, R-N.Y., a longtime supporter of gun ownership, is in favor of some gun controls, including raising the minimum age to purchase guns. He grew up in Buffalo, though he does not represent the city.
“So, I’m going to do all I can. I have to, in my heart of hearts, think all I can do to make sure that no other community has to experience what happened in my city and what happened with all those beautiful children down in Uvalde,” he said.
Contributing: Joey Garrison, Merdie Nzanga
