Senators Reach Deal on Bipartisan Gun Safety Proposal That Biden Praises as 'Steps in the Right Direction'

Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty, Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Chris Murphy (left), John Cornyn

A group of U.S. senators — 10 Democrats and 10 Republicans — announced Sunday they reached an agreement on new gun safety legislation they said would "save lives while also protecting the constitutional rights of law-abiding Americans."

Sen. Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut, and Sen. John Cornyn, a Republican from Texas, led the negotiations for the proposal, which includes moderate gun restrictions, investment for expanded mental health services and safety measures in schools, protections for victims of domestic violence, and resources for states to create so-called "red-flag laws," which are designed to keep guns out of the hands of those determined by courts to be a danger to themselves or others.

The agreement comes just weeks after a string of deadly mass shootings — including at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, and at a grocery store in Buffalo, N.Y. — created yet another renewed sense of urgency on the debate about reforming gun laws.

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"Families are scared, and it is our duty to come together and get something done that will help restore their sense of safety and security in their communities," the bipartisan group of senators said in a statement on Sunday.

Over the weekend, thousands of protestors gathered in Washington and across the country to demand action in the second March for Our Lives.

"We look forward to earning broad, bipartisan support and passing our commonsense proposal into law," the senators also said of the proposal, which looks like it will have enough votes in the Senate to avoid a filibuster.

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A framework for the legislation does not include a new minimum age requirement to purchase some firearms — a measure President Joe Biden had pushed for — though there is a mandated review of juvenile and mental health records for buyers who are under 21.

STEFANI REYNOLDS/getty

Biden expressed his gratitude in a statement on Sunday and urged the Senate to act quickly to pass the bill.

"Obviously, it does not do everything that I think is needed, but it reflects important steps in the right direction, and would be the most significant gun safety legislation to pass Congress in decades," the president said. "With bipartisan support, there are no excuses for delay, and no reason why it should not quickly move through the Senate and the House. Each day that passes, more children are killed in this country: the sooner it comes to my desk, the sooner I can sign it, and the sooner we can use these measures to save lives."

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Biden also thanked Murphy, Cornyn and Sens. Kyrsten Sinema, an Arizona Democrat, and Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican, by name "for their tireless work to produce this proposal."

Murphy acknowledged the nature of compromise in reaching the agreement, admitting in an interview with The Washington Post that some lawmakers of both parties may not approve of what is and isn't included in the proposal.

Still, he said the legislation would make a "meaningful difference."

"This is also the moment where we break the logjam. This is the moment where this 30-year impasse is broken," Murphy told the Post. "I think folks are really anxious about the state of violence in this country, and they really want Washington to show that it can deliver."

To express your opinion on gun reform proposals to your own representatives in Congress, you can look them up and contact them here: congress.gov/members