WASHINGTON (Washington Insider Magazine) – By a majority of 65-33 late on Thursday night, the Senate approved the bipartisan gun safety law.
The bill was approved by 15 Republicans and all of the Democrats present in the chamber. As was predicted, Gop Leader Mitch McConnell backed the legislation’s approval.
Sens. Roy Blunt, Bill Cassidy, Susan Collins, Lindsey Graham, John Cornyn, Mitch McConnell, Joni Ernst, Lisa Murkowski, Mitt Romney, Rob Portman, Pat Toomey, Thom Tillis, Todd Young, Richard Burr, and Shelley Moore Capito were among the Republicans who backed the bill.
The legislation is the first significant step in federal gun control in nearly 30 years.
Prior to becoming law, the measure must be approved by the House, which might do so as soon as this Friday, according to ABC NEWS.
Once the gun safety bill clears the Senate, Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California has promised to bring it to the floor as soon as possible so that it may be delivered to President Biden.
The law, which was drafted in the midst of an alarming increase in shootings throughout the U.S., was put to a vote in the Senate earlier on Thursday to end discussion. To overcome the procedural obstacle, the same 15 Republican politicians had voted in agreement with all 50 Democrats.
After a cloture vote, Senate rules typically call for 30 hours of more debate, but Majority Leader Chuck Schumer indicated he wants to garner unanimous support to waive that rule and take a final vote on Thursday.
Republicans in the House had urged members to oppose the bill on gun safety on Wednesday.
Enhanced federal background checks for purchasers under 21; financial rewards for states to implement “red flag” laws as well as other intervention programmes; and addressing the alleged “boyfriend loophole” are some of the legislation’s most important features.
The Congressional Budget Office, an independent organization, revealed the bill’s $13.2 billion price tag on Wednesday. The agency claims that the law would be completely funded by postponing a Trump-era prohibition on Medicare prescription medication rebates once more.
The bill, which was drafted by a bipartisan group of senators in the weeks following the terrible massacre at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, has the support of both Chuck Schumer and Senate Minority Leader McConnell.
The Supreme Court overturned a New York regulation governing concealed firearms in public that required citizens to prove a compelling reason to carry a weapon outside of the house on the same day the Senate passed a gun safety bill.
