A group of senators from USA announced this Sunday a principle of agreement to increase control over firearms in the country, which proposes minimum measures after the mass shootings in a supermarket in Buffalo (New York) and in a school in Uvalde (Texas). In a statement, the group of senators, both Democrats and Republicans, indicated that the agreement includes a revision of the gun purchase process for those under 21 (The perpetrators of the Buffalo and Uvalde shootings were both 18 years old.)
The package of measures also extends to the entire country the so-called “danger alert” (“Red Flag”) laws, already in force in states such as California, New York and Florida, and which allow the activation of a legal procedure to confiscate weapons. of fire of those who represent a danger to third parties or to themselves.
The group of senators that achieved the agreement consists of 10 Democrats and 10 Republicans, so that it is foreseeable that it will obtain the necessary support to be approved in the full Senate, where the Democrats enjoy a very large majority and need Republican support to marry almost any initiative forward.
Another of the measures included in the package is designed to put an end to what has come to be baptized asor “the boyfriend’s emptiness”by which until now if someone is accused of domestic violence without being married, they are allowed to continue taking weapons on property, something that does not happen in the case of married people.
In addition to slightly reducing access to guns for certain people and under what circumstances, the deal also includes more funding for mental health resources and for beefing up school safety, two things gun advocates insist on every day. time there is a media shootout in the US
The deal is significant in that it was supported by both parties – if passed, it would be the largest legislative reform on firearms in thirty years – but it falls far short of proposals from the White House and most representatives of the Democratic Party, much more restrictive.
Shortly after the deal was announced, US President Joe Biden issued a statement calling the deal a “step in the right direction”, but he regretted that this “obviously” does not include all the measures that he considers necessary.
“Every day that passes, more children are being murdered in this country. It is important that the agreement reaches my office as soon as possible so that I can ratify it and we can use these measures to save lives, “he said. Before reaching the oval office to be ratified by the president, the agreement must be presented as a bill and be approved in both the Senate and the House of Representatives.
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