West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin on Monday took to the defense of the new bipartisan gun deal reached by the Senate over the weekend by saying that the proposal takes "no rights away, no privileges away."
The measures were brought together by a group of bipartisan lawmakers in the wake of the latest deadly mass shootings in the United States. Manchin noted that none of those agreed upon should concern America's lawful gun owners.
Bipartisan Gun Deal
The Democratic senator said during an appearance on CNN's "The Lead with Jake Tapper" that gun owners in his state also wanted something done about the horrific problems with gun violence. The West Virginia lawmaker specifically pointed to concerns about people with mental health issues owning firearms.
"We have to do something. And gun owners are standing up. You take polls around the country, in my state, too - law-abiding gun owners want something to be done. They don't want people who should never have a gun, or is mentally incapacitated or not stable to be able to access anything they want," said Manchin, as per The Hill.
The senator also said that the proposed legislation, which has the support of 10 Senate Republicans, which is the minimum needed to overcome a filibuster, is based on "something that's sensible and reasonable." He cited the principles of prevention and intervention when lawmakers drafted the measures.
During the interview, Manchin said that authorities had to take what they had as a positive and work off of it. However, he noted that the piece of legislation, as drafted, should not be threatening to any law-abiding citizen in the United States of America.
According to CNN, the West Virginia senator added that the measures were based around children. He argued that lawful gun owners in the country should not be offended by the bipartisan gun deal. He noted that lawmakers were not threatening that owners would lose anything at all.
Addressing Gun Violence
The bipartisan agreement includes "needed mental health resources, improves school safety and support for students, and helps ensure dangerous criminals and those who are adjudicated as mentally ill are not able to purchase dangerous firearms.
When Manchin was asked on Monday whether or not he thought the GOP would support the measures moving forward, he said, "I truly believe in my heart of hearts we'll have more than 10 Republicans." He noted that many of his good friends and colleagues were on the right and have stepped forward, looking at a most reasonable way forward.
The deal comes as something that is far from what Democrats would have preferred in the aftermath of the racist gun massacre in Buffalo, New York, and the horrific school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. However, the measures included in the agreement are considerably more than they had initially hoped.
Despite the proposal not raising the age to buy assault rifles from 18 to 21, it plans to enhance background checks on those under 21 years before they could take possession of a gun. This is seen as the most significant element of the emerging measure, the New York Times reported.
Related Article:
Ohio Governor Signs Bill Allowing School Staff To Carry Firearms, Faces Widespread Criticism
