House passes firearms bill to raise purchase age for assault rifles to 21; the plan faces great odds in the Senate

The House on Wednesday passed a sweeping gun bill that would raise the minimum age to buy an assault rifle in the US from 18 to 21, though the legislation doesn’t stand much of a chance in the Senate.

The bill, called the Protect Our Children Act, would also ban the sale of high-capacity magazines and institute new rules dictating the proper storage of guns in the home.

The Democratic-controlled chamber approved the legislation in a vote of 223-204. It passed on a largely party-line vote: Five Republicans supported the measure, while two Democrats opposed it.

The House earlier voted by a margin of 228 to 199 to include the purchase age provision, under intense scrutiny after two recent massacres carried out by 18-year-olds, in the broader bill.

The package is a collection of various laws designed to limit access to firearms and other firearms equipment in the wake of last month’s mass shootings in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas, that left 31 Americans dead.

Another component of the legislation, called the Untraceable Firearms Act, would tighten regulations on so-called ghost weapons, or those firearms without a serial number. It is much more difficult for law enforcement to trace the ownership and possession of firearms that lack serial numbers.

While House Democrats have passed tougher gun laws in response to the massacres, their success is largely symbolic. Senate Republicans, who have the power to block the legislation with a filibuster that requires 60 votes to overcome, are united in their opposition to the House gun restrictions and will block the bill from advancing.

The 50-50 split in the Senate, which gives Vice President Kamala Harris the key tiebreaking vote, means Democrats must persuade 10 Republicans to back any legislation. A bipartisan group of senators is negotiating a more limited compromise bill that they say would strengthen background checks, improve mental health services and tighten school safety.

Political analysts say that neither the May 24 elementary school massacre in Uvalde, Texas, nor the May 14 racist attack at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, are likely to garner enough support for the bill passed by the House. Camera.

A gunman at Robb Elementary in Uvalde shot dead 19 children and two teachers, while the shooter in a predominantly black neighborhood in Buffalo killed 10 people. Both gunmen were 18 years old and were carrying AR-15-style assault rifles.

Parents of the victims, law enforcement officials and an 11-year-old Uvalde shooting survivor appeared before Congress Wednesday to urge lawmakers to pass new gun laws.

Kimberly Rubio, mother of slain 10-year-old Lexi Rubio, told lawmakers through tears that she doesn’t want her daughter to be remembered as “just a number.”

“She was smart, compassionate and athletic. She was quiet, shy unless she had something to say,” Rubio told the House Oversight Committee. “Somewhere, there is a mother who listens to our testimony and thinks, ‘I can’t even imagine her pain,’ not knowing that our reality will one day be hers. Unless we act now.”

In the wake of the two massacres, Senate leaders Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., and Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., welcomed bipartisan talks in the upper house on a more limited set of new gun rules.

Sen. Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut, and Sen. John Cornyn, a Republican from Texas, are leading those deliberations, which have so far focused on tougher background checks and red flag laws.

Red flag laws allow family members, co-workers, or the police to petition a court to seize a person’s weapons for a set period of time if the person is deemed to be a threat to themselves or for the public.

Bipartisan ideas from the Senate, though much less stringent, are the Democrats’ best bet for sending any gun legislation to President Joe Biden’s desk for him to sign into law. The president, who has called on federal lawmakers to pass tougher gun laws, met with Murphy on Tuesday to discuss bipartisan negotiations.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Tuesday that Biden supports red flag laws and more rigorous background checks.

“We understand that not all the components of what the president is asking for are going to stop all the tragedies,” Jean-Pierre said. “But we have to take the steps, and we have to move on, and we have to do something.”

Despite overwhelming support from congressional Democrats and the White House, the new gun legislation faces difficulties in the Senate, aides say, as the vast majority of Republicans would never vote for gun bills, even slightly. more strict.

Cornyn acknowledged that political reality on the Senate floor Wednesday afternoon, but struck an optimistic tone in cross-party talks.

“I’m pleased to say that we’re making steady progress on this issue. It’s early in the process, but I’m optimistic about where things stand right now,” he said. “What am I optimistic about? I’m optimistic that we can pass a bill in the Senate, it can pass the House, and it will get President Biden’s signature. And it will become the law of the land.”

The Texas Republican said he is focused on the importance of ensuring young adults have access to mental health services and that schools have sufficient safety protocols.

He also noted that another idea being considered is a law that would require states to upload juvenile records to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.

“Because this young man in Uvalde turned 18 and there was no review of his juvenile record, he passed a background check. It’s like he was born on the day he turned 18 and nothing that had happened before was important,” Cornyn said. “That’s obviously a problem.”