On Saturday, President Joe Biden signed a gun control bill less than 24 hours after it was quickly passed through Congress.
The bill is the largest gun control bill the country has seen in thirty years and comes after a string of deadly mass shootings.
“Time is of the essence. Lives will be saved,” Biden said in an address to the nation. “From Columbine to Sandy Hook to Charleston, Orlando, Las Vegas, Parkland, El Paso, Atlanta, Buffalo, Uvalde and for the shootings that happen every day in the streets. How many times have you heard that ‘just do something, for God’s sake just do something?”
“Today, we did,” he added.
The House passed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act on Friday in a 234 -193 vote with 14 Republicans crossing party lines a day after the Senate passed it in a 65-33 vote, Fox News reported.
The new bill is the latest effort to prevent mass shootings that m the U.S. has suffered from for years. The latest mass shootings in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas left dozens dead last month and occurred within a week apart from each other.
Following the shootings, the senate launched negotiations between 10 Senate Republicans and 10 Senate Democrats to pass gun control reform and bring attention to gun violence in the country.
Despite the dire need for change, the push was largely opposed by Republicans in the house, notably by Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy. However, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell supported the legislation and said it “will help make these horrifying incidents less likely while fully upholding the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens.”
The newest law will incentivize states to pass red flag laws and will also expand background checks for Americans between the ages of 18- to 21.
In an added measure to prevent gun violence, Lawmakers are urging states to release previously sealed juvenile records, which could potentially extend the waiting time before the individual could purchase a gun.
The Texas and New York shootings were both done by 18-year-old men, and both legally purchased AR-15-style rifles. Neither were flagged by existing red flag laws.
The bill also provides funding for youth mental health programs.
“This bill doesn’t do everything I want. It does include actions I’ve long called for that are going to save lives,” Biden said. “I know there’s much more work to do. And I’m never going to give up.
“But this is a monumental day,” he added.
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