President Joe Biden signed into legislation essentially the most sweeping laws geared toward stopping gun violence in 30 years on the White House on Saturday shortly earlier than departing for Europe for a sequence of conferences with world leaders.
Biden known as the signing of the laws a “monumental day” and stated it was proof that Democrats and Republicans might discover widespread floor on vital points.
“God willing, it’s going to save a lot of lives,” he said.
The bill provides grants to states for “red flag” legal guidelines, enhances background checks to embrace juvenile data, and closes the “boyfriend loophole” by holding weapons away from single relationship companions convicted of abuse. It may even require enhanced background checks for folks ages 18 to 21 and funding for youth psychological well being companies.
The bipartisan gun legislation sped through Congress in the month after a gunman killed 19 students and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas. Democrats unanimously voted in favor of the bill along with more than two dozen Republicans in the House and the Senate, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.
“When it appears not possible to get something achieved in Washington, we’re doing one thing consequential,” Biden said. “If we are able to attain a compromise on weapons, we ought to have the opportunity to attain a compromise on different important points, from veterans well being care to cutting-edge American innovation to a lot extra.”
He had pleaded with lawmakers to pass legislation tightening gun laws following the shootings in Buffalo, New York, and in Uvalde. But the bill stopped short of his call for Congress to ban assault weapons and to require background checks for all gun purchases, both of which are widely opposed by Republicans in Congress.
“I know there’s much more work to do, and I’m never going to give up, but this is a monumental day,” Biden said. “God bless us with the strength to get the work left done.”
The bill gives Biden a win following two major blows from the Supreme Court over the past week. The court ruled Friday to overturn Roe v. Wade, eliminating a woman’s constitutional right to an abortion. And on Thursday, it struck down a New York law that required showing a special need to get a permit to carry a concealed handgun in public.
“I think the Supreme Court has made some terrible decisions,” Biden said when asked about those rulings by a reporter.
Biden signed the gun legislation moments before heading to Europe for a week of meetings with Group of Seven leaders in Germany and with NATO leaders in Spain. When he returns, he said, he plans to have an event at the White House with the lawmakers who helped pass the bill.
