Article Authors:
Reuters
David Morgan and Andrew Chung Moira War Burton
Washington — A bipartisan package of gun safety measures despite the Supreme Court's significant expansion of gun rights With a ruling that passed the US Supreme Court late Thursday, Americans have the constitutional right to carry guns in public for self-defense.
Breakthrough court decisions and Senate actions on gun safety show a deep division of firearms in the United States weeks after the shootings in Yuvalde, Texas and Buffalo, New York. More than 30 people have died, including 19 people. child.
The Senate bill, approved with 65-33 votes, is the country with the highest per capita gun ownership in the world and is the first significant gun control passed in 30 years. It's a law. And there are the most mass shootings each year in a wealthy country.
"This is not a cure for all the ways gun violence affects our country, but it is a step in a long arrears in the right direction," said the Democratic Senate Majority Leader. Chuck Schumer said on the floor before the vote.
The bill that supporters say save lives is modest. The most important restrictions on gun ownership tighten the background checks of gun buyers convicted of domestic violence and serious crimes as a boy.
Republicans have refused to compromise on broader gun control measures supported by Democrats, including President Joe Biden, such as assault-style rifles and a ban on large magazines.
A Supreme Court ruling early Thursday broke New York's restrictions on carrying hidden pistols out of the house, pushed by a conservative majority. ..
The court found that the law enacted in 1913 violated the rights of those who "hold the right to arm" under Article 2 of the US Constitutional Amendment.
In a Senate vote late Thursday, 15 Republicans joined all 50 Democrats to vote on the bill.
Next, the Democratic Party will be the majority, and Republicans will be approved by the House of Representatives, even though they have instructed the members to oppose it.
After passing through the house, Biden signs the bill.
The Senate's actions took place weeks after Biden's ardent speech, where he declared "enough" of gun violence and urged lawmakers to take action.
According to polls, the majority of Americans support some new restrictions on firearms. This is usually a growing demand after mass shootings in Texas and New York.
The Democratic Party warned that Thursday's Supreme Court ruling could have disastrous consequences for gun safety across the country.
"The Supreme Court has misjudged," Senator Chris Murphy, the Democratic chief negotiator on gun safety law, said in an interview.
"I am deeply concerned about the court's willingness to deprive our members of the ability to protect our members from elected groups, which has serious implications for the security of our country. It does, "said Murphy, Connecticut's hometown. , 26 people were killed in a shooting at an elementary school in 2012.
Conservatives uphold the broad interpretation of Article 2 of the Constitutional Amendment, which states that it limits most new restrictions on the purchase of guns.
The Senate's 80-page bipartisan, safer community law keeps guns out of the hands of people who are considered dangerous by the state and is guilty of domestic violence or serious crimes as a boy. Encourage the strengthening of background checks for sentenced gun buyers.
According to the Gun Violence Archive, a non-profit research group, more than 20,800 people were killed in the United States in 2022 by gun violence, including murder and suicide.
"Monumental Victory"
The Supreme Court ruling, made by conservative judge Clarence Thomas, states that the Constitution "pistols for self-defense outside the house." Declared to protect the "right of the individual to carry".
"This is a monumental victory for members of the National Rifle Association and gun owners across the country," said Jason, Managing Director of the National Rifle Association Legislative Institute.・ Wimet stated in a statement.
"This ruling opens the door to correct changes to the laws of the remaining seven states that have not yet granted the right to carry firearms for personal protection."
In the Senate, Republican supporters of the new gun safety bill said the bill would not undermine the rights of gun owners to comply with the law, one of the most enthusiastic members.
"It's not enough to touch the overwhelming majority of American gun owners who are citizens of sound spiritual law," said Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell in support of the bill. Said.
The bill is to prevent states from adopting a "danger signal" law to keep firearms out of the hands of themselves or others who are considered dangerous. Provide funding. It will also fund alternative interventions in states where the Danger Signals Act is opposed and enhance school safety.
Close the "boyfriend loophole" by refusing to buy a gun for someone convicted of abusing a close partner in a dating relationship.
The state can also add juvenile delinquency and mental health records to the national background check database.
Senator John Cornyn, the bill's chief Republican negotiator, was booed last week when he discussed the content in a speech before the Republican Convention in his hometown of Texas.
(Report by David Morgan, Andrew Chung, Moira Warburton, Additional Report by Rose Horowitch, Katharine Jackson, Richard Cowan, Edited by Scott Malone, Alistair Bell, Jonathan Oatis)
