The Senate has called their gun legislation the Safer Communities Act. The Act is the bipartisan legislation that aims to reduce gun violence in America. They are done debating, Chuck Schumer has filed cloture and the Senate has voted to advance the bill, reports Fox News.
The Senate vote to move the bill forward was 64 to 34. When the bill is officially voted on in the Senate, it will need 60 votes to beat the filibuster, so the initial vote shows that they may already have what they need to get it through the Senate.
The National Rifle Association opposes the bill. They say it does little to truly address violent crime and opens the door to unnecessary burdens on the exercise of Second Amendment freedom, said CBS Morning News.
The Senate bill “includes expanded background checks for gun buyers under 21, provides grants for states that implement their own red flag laws and offers additional funding for both school safety measures and mental health services,” reports Fox News. It also “creates penalties for straw purchases of firearms, requires more gun sellers to register as Federally Licensed Firearm Dealers and closes the so-called boyfriend loophole by prohibiting gun access for people convicted of domestic abuse against an intimate partner.”
The next step is for the Senate as a whole to vote on the bill, which Chuck Schumer said he expects to happen in just days. Then the bill will go to the House of Representatives and if and when it passes there, it will go to Joe Biden’s desk.
Republican Mitch McConnell said this about the bill, “I support the bill text that Senator Cornyn and our colleagues have produced.” “All 50 Democratic senators voted to advance the bill, joined by 15 Republican Senators: Roy Blunt (Mo.), Richard Burr (N.C.), Shelley Moore Capito (W.Va.), Bill Cassidy (La.), Susan Collins (Maine), John Cornyn (Texas), Joni Ernst (Iowa), Lindsey Graham (S.C.), Mitch McConnell (Ky.), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Rob Portman (Ohio), Mitt Romney (Utah), Thom Tillis (N.C.), Pat Toomey (Pa.) and Todd Young (Ind.),” reports Forbes.
Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House, said this: “After the Senate passes this bill, the House will swiftly bring it to the Floor so that we can send it to President Biden’s desk.” She expects the House to be able to vote on the bill before the weekend, The Hill reports.
But other House members are saying, not so fast: “House GOP leaders said they will formally whip against the bipartisan legislative package to combat gun violence, and request that their members vote no if it passes the Senate.”
If the bill gets through the Senate, it can pass through the House with only Democratic votes, reports NBC News. One lawmaker, however, expects 10 to 15 Republicans to vote yes on the bill.
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It’s not over till the fat lady sings, as they say. While it looks like the bill will pass through the Senate, and Pelosi wants to jam it through the House, some House Republicans plan to fight it. Do you think this bill will become law?
