Yesterday, a cross-party group of US senators agreed on a framework for potential new gun safety legislation in the US.
This comes after the recent mass shootings that have taken place in America, with the most recent being the shooting that took place at Robb Elementary School in Texas. This left nineteen children dead, as well as two teachers.
The US has already surpassed 200 shootings this year alone, and many are once again calling for change. Tens of thousands of people rallied across the US at the weekend, calling for the laws to be more strict. This was organised by gun safety group March For Our Lives, which was founded by survivors of the 2018 Parkland shooting in Florida.
The group are calling for an assault weapons ban, universal background checks for people trying to purchase guns, and a national licensing system to register gun owners.
However, President Biden said the new framework is a ‘step in the right direction‘ but still falls short of what is being called for. It’s still not an outright ban of assault weapons.
What would gun proposals mean?
The framework would include tougher checks for gun buyers who are under 21 and a crackdown on illegal gun purchases. It would also introduce more in-depth mental health checks. The proposals are supported by ten republicans and therefore have the potential to be voted into law. Previous attempts of this kind have failed in congress.
If these measures pass through congress, they will be the first gun control measures the US has seen in decades. The last to pass was the Brady Bill in the 1990’s which created a national background checks system. Since then, largely due to Republicans wanting to protect the second amendment, the right to bear arms, not much else has changed.
March For Our Lives tweeted out about the new laws, reiterating that they won’t solve everything overnight, but they’re a start. They’re confident that this time it will be different and change will be made. Something we can all hope for.
Biden urged the lawmakers to pass these proposals quickly, but also made it known they were still not enough.