US Senate Passes Bipartisan Law Aimed at Gun Reform in 65-33 Vote

The recent killing of 19 students and two teachers inside a Texas school catalysed this renewed, bipartisan action.

US Senate. Image used for representational only.

(Photo: iStock)

The US Senate on Thursday, 23 June, passed a law aimed at curtailing mass gun violence in a 65-33 vote, something which is being called as the most meaningful reform in decades.

15 Republicans joined Democrats to advance this bill, which consists of more firearms restrictions and $15 billion in mental health funding and security funding in schools.

It will be sent to the House of Representatives on Friday where it is very likely to be passed, and then to President Joe Biden's desk for his signature.

Senate Majority Leader Charles E Schumer stated that the bill "is not a cure-all for all the ways gun violence affects our nation, but it is a long overdue step in the right direction."

"The United States Senate faced a choice: We could surrender to gridlock… or we could choose to try and forge a bipartisan path forward to pass a real bill, as difficult as that may have seemed,” he said. “We chose to try and get something done," he added.

The passage of this bill in the Senate comes a few hours after the Supreme Court struck down a New York gun law aimed at the right to carry firearms in public.

'The Sweet Spot,' Says Senate Minority Leader

Some of the provisions are:

• Establishing a national background check system

• 10-year-ban on assault weapons

• The rectification of the "boyfriend loophole" that will now keep guns away from domestic-violence offenders if they are not married

The brutal killing of 19 students and two teachers inside a Texas elementary school catalysed this renewed and bipartisan action.

Among those Republicans who supported the bill was Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who said that “this is the sweet spot… making America safer, especially for kids in school, without making our country one bit less free."

Not everyone, however, was too happy with the bill, such as Republican Ted Cruz, who called it a means to "satisfy the Democrat political priority to go after the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms of law-abiding citizens."

"I'm angry that these horrific crimes keep happening, but I’m also angry that this august chamber plays political games. This bill is designed, among other things, to satiate the urge to do something… I agree: Do something. But do something that works, do something that will stop these crimes. This bill ain’t that," he added.

(With inputs from Reuters, the New York Times and the Washington Post.)