President Joe Biden signed a bipartisan federal gun safety bill into law, marking a landmark gun safety legislation in the United States for almost 30 years, following recent fatal mass shootings.
After signing the bill at the White House, Biden remarked, "God willing, it's going to save a lot of lives."
According to CNN, the landmark legislation was crafted after recent mass shootings at a store in a primarily Black area in Buffalo, New York, and an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.
On Tuesday, a group of negotiators from both Democrat and Republican parties introduced the legislation draft they had been working on in the Senate.
The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act was introduced by Democratic Sens. Chris Murphy of Connecticut and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, as well as Republican Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina.
On Friday, the House approved the bill on Friday by a vote of 234 to 193, with 14 Republicans joining Democrats. In a late-night vote on Thursday, the Senate approved the measure.
A Breakthrough That WIll Save Lives
Though the law does not ban firearms, polls show that most Americans wanted to see the enactment of the most significant new federal legislation to address gun violence since the 10-year assault weapons ban of 1994, which already expired.
Biden said that though the bill "doesn't do everything" that he and his party had advocated for, it has measures that are "going to save lives."
"Today, we say more than 'enough.' We say more than enough. This time, when it seems impossible to get anything done in Washington, we are doing something consequential," he noted.
At a time when it seems impossible to get anything done in Washington, bipartisan members of Congress and I did something. The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act will save lives. pic.twitter.com/XegBeK4vfS
— President Biden (@POTUS) June 25, 2022
The president added that the passage of the gun safety legislation implies that the federal government can "reach a compromise on other critical issues, from veterans' health care to cutting edge American innovation and so much more."
"I know there's much more work to do, and I'm never going to give up, but this is a monumental day," Biden noted.
What Is In The Latest Gun Control Law
The legislation signed on Friday would strengthen background checks for anyone who purchases guns ages 18 to 21, per CNBC. After the shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde, Texas, were both conducted by 18-year-olds using assault-style weapons, the ease with which young people can obtain firearms came under intense scrutiny. Democrats wanted to prohibit firearms for anybody under the age of 21.
The law attempts to prohibit gun ownership for domestic violence perpetrators who are not married to their partners and eliminate the so-called boyfriend loophole.
Additionally, it would provide funding for states to support red-flag measures, which permit law enforcement or friends and family to ask a court to order the seizure of a gun if the owner is considered dangerous.
Under the law, mental health and school safety programs will receive funds. Republicans who support gun rights contend that these problems, not the widespread availability of weapons, are to blame for the epidemic of gun violence in the United States. Democrats have long decried the lack of financing for mental-health initiatives.
Critics, however, say the scope of the measure is too small for a country with the highest gun ownership numbers worldwide and the largest yearly frequency of mass shootings among developed nations, as per an Al Jazeera report.
Last month, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stated in a report that the gun deaths in the US have increased by 35% in 2020 to the highest level since 1994, with dangerous rates for young Black men.
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