Yesterday, Friday, the US Congress, to applause, adopted a law that won the support of members of the Republican and Democratic parties aimed at regulating gun control, and is the most important in nearly 30 years, but remains much less than President Joe Biden had hoped for in a country suffering from shootings.
It is expected that President Joe Biden will sign the law, today, Saturday, to become effective.
After its adoption in the Senate on Thursday, the House of Representatives approved the law, which includes a package of measures that impose new restrictions on guns and allocate billions of dollars to fund mental health and school safety.
This text was the fruit of an initiative launched in the wake of the massacre of 21 people, including 19 children, who were shot dead by a young man who stormed their school in Yuvaldi, Texas, at the end of last May, as well as the Buffalo massacre in New York State, where 10 black Americans were killed in a supermarket in the middle of the month. Himself.
The new law, in particular, provides support for state-by-state laws by allowing authorities to remove firearms from anyone they consider dangerous.
The text also requires checking criminal and psychiatric records for every 18-21-year-old who wishes to purchase a firearm, as well as funding for mental health programs.
Late on Thursday, the Senate approved a package of modest measures presented by members of the Republican and Democratic parties related to gun security, despite the Supreme Court expanding gun rights by ruling that citizens have a constitutional right to carry guns in public to defend self.
One of the most important restrictions imposed by the new law on the possession of weapons is the tightening of records of those convicted of domestic violence or major crimes as minors who wish to purchase them. It also provides billions of dollars to fund the mental health and security sector in schools.
Republicans refused to try to agree on more comprehensive measures such as a ban on assault rifles or high-capacity magazines, which Democrats, including President Joe Biden, had favored.
The Senate vote came hours after the Supreme Court ruled that citizens have the right to carry a gun in public, a historic decision with far-reaching repercussions for states and cities across the country, which is witnessing an escalation of gun violence.
More than 20,800 people were killed in gun violence in the United States in 2022, including murder and suicide, according to the Gun Violence Archive, a nonprofit research group.