Biden Signs Landmark Gun Measure Into Law
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden signed the most sweeping gun violence bill in decades into law Saturday morning, declaring “lives will be saved” as a result of a bipartisan compromise reached in the shadow of a wake of recent mass shootings.
“Today we say, ‘More than enough,’” Biden said during a signing ceremony held in the Roosevelt Room of the White House.
“When it seems impossible to get anything done in Washington, we are doing something consequential,” the president said.
Biden went on to talk about the families of shooting victims he has met with in the wake of shootings in Uvalde, Texas and Buffalo, New York, in recent weeks and said their message to him was clear.
“‘Do something,’ they said. ‘For God’s sake, just do something.’ Today we did.”
As previously reported by The Well News, the House gave its approval to the bill on Friday.
The 234-193 vote, on which 14 Republicans joined their Democrat colleagues, came exactly one month to the day after a gunman laid siege to an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, and used a semiautomatic weapon to kill 19 children and two teachers.
House passage of the measure came a day after 14 Republican senators joined Democrats in breaking a GOP filibuster and advancing it in the Senate. The bill later passed in that chamber 65-33.
The Safer Communities Act, which imposes a more lengthy background check process for gun buyers under 21, closes the so-called “boyfriend loophole,” and helps states impose red flag laws that make it easier for authorities to take weapons from people identified as dangerous.
The bill also provides millions to fund local programs for school safety, mental health and violence prevention.
The president called it “a historic achievement.”
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