Senate Passes Bipartisan Gun Control Bill In 65-33 Vote

Topline

The Senate passed a bipartisan gun control bill in a 65-33 vote late Thursday, setting up one of the most significant pieces of federal gun legislation in decades—the product of weeks of negotiations after a spate of mass shootings—for a possible House vote this week.

Key Facts

What To Watch For

The House will take up the bill on Friday, before lawmakers leave town for a two-week recess, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said in a Thursday night statement. It may face a close-to-party-line vote in the House, as the body’s Republican leaders have encouraged rank-and-file members to vote against it. If both houses of Congress pass the legislation, President Joe Biden has indicated he will sign it.

Key Background

The bill would boost federal background check requirements for prospective gun-buyers under the age of 21, block gun sales to people convicted of domestic abuse within the last five years and offer funding for states to set up red-flag laws, which let judges temporarily take away guns from people deemed threats to themselves or others. It would also fund mental health and school safety programs, two key priorities for Republicans. Lawmakers have struggled for years to pass gun control measures, but negotiations restarted last month, after 19 children and two adults were killed by a shooter at an elementary school in Texas. A group of 20 senators—10 Democrats and 10 Republicans—announced a broad framework for a bill less than two weeks ago, and following days of tense negotiations, Senate negotiators finally released legislative text earlier this week. The bill falls short of the broad gun control measures favored by most Democrats: It doesn’t ban assault rifles, require background checks for private gun sales or raise the age to buy a semiautomatic rifle. Still, negotiators like Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) have framed the agreement as a step in the right direction.

Tangent

The bill passed the Senate just hours after the Supreme Court rolled back state-level gun control rules. In a sweeping 6-3 ruling, the high court struck down a New York law that requires gunowners to have “proper cause” to get a concealed carry permit, a decision that could invalidate similar laws in other states.