Biden signs bipartisan bill on gun safety into law
Jun 25, 2022
Washington [US], June 25 : US President Joe Biden on Saturday signed into law a bipartisan gun safety bill in order to prevent the access of firearms to dangerous people and to invest in new mental health across the country.
"God willing, it's going to save a lot of lives," Biden said at the White House as he finished signing the bill, CNN reported.
In his address during the signing of the bill, Biden announced to host the members of Congress who supported the landmark gun safety legislation at a White House event on July 11.
"When we return from Europe, Jill and I will be hosting an event in the White House on July 11 to mark this historic achievement," CNN quoted Biden as saying.
The US President further said, "While this bill doesn't do everything I want, it does include actions I've long called for that are going to save lives."
"Today, we say more than 'enough.' We say more than enough. This time, when it seems impossible to get anything done in Washington, we are doing something consequential," CNN quoted Biden as saying.
"If we can reach compromise on guns, we ought to be able to reach a compromise on other critical issues, from veterans' health care to cutting edge American innovation and so much more. I know there's much more work to do, and I'm never going to give up, but this is a monumental day," Biden added.
Biden signed the bill after it cleared the House and two days after it passed the Senate on Thursday night, where a group of US lawmakers reached the much-awaited deal on the law. The legislation came together in the aftermath of the recent mass shooting incidents in Uvalde, Buffalo and Texas, that struck a nerve in the country.
The bill -- titled the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act -- was released by Republican Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Democratic Sens. Chris Murphy of Connecticut and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, CNN reported.
The final vote was 65 to 33 with 15 Republicans joining Democrats in support of the measure, marking a significant bipartisan breakthrough on one of the most contentious policy issues in the US.
The bill represents a rare moment of bipartisan agreement on a hyperpolarized issue, The Hill reported.
The bill does not ban assault-style rifles or significantly expand background-check requirements for gun purchases but aims to take firearms away from dangerous people.
It comes with a USD 13.2 billion price tag and it includes millions of dollars for mental health, school safety, crisis intervention programs and incentives for states to include juvenile records in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.
This move comes after the May 24 massacre at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, that killed 19 children and two teachers.
It was the bloodiest mass shooting in the United States this year, which occurred only 10 days after another shooting that killed 10 people at a supermarket in Buffalo.
