(Washington) US senators from both sides unveiled a bill on Tuesday to restrict gun violence after a series of deadly shootings, a text that falls far short of the measures demanded by President Joe Biden, but constitutes despite everything a first for decades.
Posted at 7:04 p.m.
Updated at 8:07 p.m.
In a deeply divided America, an agreement in Congress between elected Democrats and Republicans is indeed rare, especially on this very divisive subject.
It is “the most significant gun violence legislation in almost 30 years,” tweeted Democratic Senator Chris Murphy.
This 80-page text “will save thousands of lives”, he added.
The parliamentary initiative was launched after the massacre of Uvalde, which left 21 dead, including 19 children, in an elementary school in Texas at the end of May, and that of Buffalo in the State of New York, during which 10 people black women were killed in a supermarket in mid-May.
“Any emergency”
Chuck Schumer, the leader of the Democrats in the Senate, also described the text as “advanced”.
“While not all we wanted, this legislation is urgently needed,” he said in a statement.
Republican John Cornyn, who worked with Chris Murphy on the bill, said the text was intended to make attacks like Uvalde’s “less likely to happen, while protecting the Second Amendment” from the Constitution, which allows the possession of firearms.
“I’m proud that this proposed mental health and school safety bill places NO NEW RESTRICTIONS on law-abiding gun owners,” he tweeted.
The proposed measures fall far short of what President Biden wanted, such as banning assault rifles.
The text notably highlights support for laws, state by state, which would allow the weapons they possess to be removed from the hands of people deemed dangerous, according to Mr. Murphy.
He also intends to introduce stronger criminal and psychological background checks for gun buyers between the ages of 18 and 21, as well as better control of the illegal sale of guns, and funding for mental health programs. .
Joe Biden had publicly shown his support for anti-gun violence activists by listing the measures he wants to see adopted, but which are absent from the agreement between the senators: banning assault rifles and capacity, background checks for all gun buyers – not just those under 21 – the obligation for individuals to keep their guns locked up.