Expands background checks, prohibited purchasers, and incentivizes “red flag” laws.
QUICK FACTS:
- The Senate voted 64-34 to advance an 80-page gun control bill Tuesday night called the “Bipartisan Safer Communities Act,” with 14 Republicans joining the majority Democrat-led effort.
- The legislation’s approval amounts to what The New York Times is calling “the most significant action in decades to overhaul the nation’s gun laws.”
- The bill will intensify background checks, distribute millions to states implementing red-flag laws, and closes the so-called “boyfriend loophole” by prohibiting people convicted of domestic abuse against an intimate partner from gun access.
- Supporters of the bill, like Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), are looking to “move to final passage as soon as possible” and expect the bill to pass by the end of the week. “This bipartisan gun safety legislation is progress and will save lives,” Sen. Schumer said before the vote. “While it is not everything we want, this legislation is urgently needed.”
- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said that “After the Senate passes this bill, the House will swiftly bring it to the Floor so that we can send it to President Biden’s desk.”
- The vote margin and partnership between Democrats and so many Republics foreshadows the legislation has enough support to meet the 60-vote threshold needed to break a Republican filibuster.
- Joe Biden is expected to sign the bill if it passes the Senate and the House.
14 REPUBLICANS WHO BACKED THE BILL:
- Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX)
- Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
- Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC)
- Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA)
- Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO)
- Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC)
- Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT)
- Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH)
- Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV)
- Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA)
- Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)
- Rep. Todd Young (R-IN)
- Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC)
- Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME)
WHAT THE NRA SAID:
“This legislation can be abused to restrict lawful gun purchases, infringe upon the rights of law-abiding Americans, & use fed dollars to fund gun control measures being adopted by state & local politicians,” the NRA tweeted Tuesday. “This legislation can be abused to restrict lawful gun purchases, infringe upon the rights of law-abiding Americans, and use federal dollars to fund gun control measures being adopted by state and local politicians. This bill leaves too much discretion in the hands of government officials and also contains undefined and overbroad provisions inviting interference with our constitutional freedoms.”
FIREARMS POLICY COALITION (FPC) ON PROBLEMS WITH BILL:
- The new bill was critiqued by the Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC):
- Red Flag Laws: Expands the definition of “engaged in the business” by striking “with the principal objective of livelihood and profit” in the current definition and replacing it with “to predominantly earn a profit.” This confusion could lead to new and successful prosecutions of private sellers who may fall under the broad and vague definition of “engaged in business” and therefore the need to be licensed.
- Private Sales: By expanding the definition of a prohibiting misdemeanor domestic violence in such a vague, broad, and subjective way it invites confusion, and potential firearms prohibitions.
- New Misdemeanor Firearms Prohibitions: By expanding the definition of a prohibiting misdemeanor domestic violence in such a vague, broad, and subjective way it invites confusion, and potential firearms prohibitions.
- Transfers and Straw Purchases: Expanded definitions and dramatic penalty enhancements on individuals who illegally transfer firearms. Prohibits the government from arming drug cartels, unless the government exercises more oversight on said drug cartels, thus allowing the free flow of arms to these cartels to continue in perpetuity.
- Employer Background Checks: Allows all employers to ask for a firearms background check prior to employment or during current employment, regardless of its connection to job duties.
READ THE BILL:
BACKGROUND:
- President Donald J. Trump posted a message on his social media platform ‘Truth Social’ arguing that the new gun control bill will be the “first step” in the government’s motion to seize firearms: “The deal on ‘Gun Control’ currently being structured and pushed in the Senate by the Radical Left Democrats, with the help of Mitch McConnell, RINO Senator John Cornyn of Texas, and others, will go down in history as the first step in the movement to TAKE YOUR GUNS AWAY. Republicans, be careful what you wish for!!!”
- Negotiations for the “Bipartisan Safer Communities Act” come after two mass shootings have been emphasized by the mainstream media in the last two months: the shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, which left 19 children and two teachers dead, and an attack that killed 10 at a Buffalo, New York supermarket.
- A nationwide survey conducted by the Trafalgar Group found that 46.7% of respondents are concerned about the implications of “red flag” gun control laws and believe that such laws might be abused by authority. The survey also showed that 72.2% of Republicans believe red flag gun control laws could be abused by federal officials or local powers for personal or political gain.
