Congress Approves Gun Control Bill—Biden To Sign Into Law

Topline

The House of Representatives voted 234-193 Friday afternoon to approve a bipartisan gun control bill the Senate passed Thursday, marking the most significant gun legislation Congress has passed in decades.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) attend a … [+] rally near Capitol Hill in Washington, June 8, 2022, sponsored by Everytown for Gun Safety and its grassroots networks.

Susan Walsh/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Key Facts

The bill includes enhanced background checks for gun buyers under 21, a new federal grant program to encourage states to enact red-flag laws and the creation of a federal statute banning gun trafficking.

Fourteen Republicans joined all 220 House Democrats in voting to pass the bill.

Cheers erupted among Democrats after the vote closed, with several members hugging each other on the House floor.

President Joe Biden has vowed to sign any “commonsense” gun control legislation into law.

Key Background

The Senate passed the bill Thursday night with 15 Republican senators joining all 50 Democrats in backing the legislation—more than enough to overcome the 60-vote filibuster threshold. The bill was the product of weeks of negotiations among a small group of senators, led by Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) on the Democratic side and Senator John Cornyn (R-Tex.) on the Republican side. The group started discussing the bill after a series of mass shootings, in particular the massacre of 19 children and two teachers at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, sparked a nationwide outcry for action on guns. But doubt remained about whether a bill would actually be passed as recently as early this week, with lawmakers arguing over details like how to close the boyfriend loophole. The sides ultimately agreed non-spousal domestic abusers would be eligible to have gun rights restored, but only after having a clean record for five years following their conviction.

Big Number

$11 billion. That’s around how much money the bill proposes in funding to improve mental health programs.

Contra

Gun control measures many Democrats pushed, like raising the age to buy assault rifles from 18 to 21, mandatory waiting periods and a ban on high-capacity magazines, were not included in the bill.

Chief Critic

Former President Donald Trump decried calls for gun control as a “grotesque effort” in a speech just days after the Uvalde shooting. Trump warned Republicans on his social media platform, Truth Social, on Thursday that voting for the gun control bill would be “CAREER ENDING.”