Following a rash of devastating mass shootings, the House has passed a gun reform package that will now face an uphill battle in the Senate.
The Protecting Our Kids Act comprises eight gun-related bills, the most pressing one including increasing the legal age to purchase certain semi-automatic rifles. The Act also includes a ban of large-capacity magazines and increasing regulations on the storage of firearms. The House passed the bill on Wednesday following heart-wrenching testimony from survivors and relatives of mass shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde, which claimed the lives of 19 children and two teachers.
Reps. Anthony Gonzalez, Brian Fitzpatrick, Adam Kinzinger, Chris Jacobs, and Fred Upton, all Republicans, voted in favor of the bill. Kurt Schrader of Oregon and Jared Golden of Maine, both centrist Democrats, were among those that voted against the bill.
Despite the desperate need for gun reform, Republicans in the Senate aren’t likely to support the package. The bill received strong opposition from Republicans, who argued that it would violate citizens’ Second Amendment rights to bear arms. They have also argued that gun reform would not have prevented the tragedies. The AR-15 or similar weapons have been used in many of the shootings and would be harder to obtain under the Protecting Our Kids Act.
A bipartisan group of senators is working together to come to an agreement to satisfy law-abiding gun owners and the general public. However, reaching a consensus is slim, as talks of these kinds have been occurring for years to no avail.
