The principle of agreement signed by twenty representatives restricts the access of persons under 21 years of age
Twenty senators, ten Democrats and as many Republicans this Sunday set US gun laws on the path to historic reform. After intense negotiations, they agreed to sign a statement laying the groundwork for making modest changes aimed at curbing the indiscriminate trade in pistols, shotguns or rifles. They are moderate requests, but of great importance in a society bewildered and blocked by constant shootings, which are witnessing with concern the proliferation of 18-year-olds and minors turning into lone gunmen.
The agreement significantly broadens the judges’ discretion to determine whether a person is qualified to possess weapons or poses a danger to themselves or others. It increases federal crimes related to it. In the case of persons under the age of 21, the purchase will be subject to a prior federal-level criminal record check and that the customer is free of juvenile wrongdoing and has not had any mental health problems. The senators also propose moving beyond the current regime regarding those convicted of gender violence. To date, it is illegal to sell weapons to spouses convicted of assaulting their partners, but if the deal goes through, the boyfriends won’t be able to acquire them either, which currently creates a legal loophole that committing hundreds of crimes facilitated every year in the country
The agreement, announced this Sunday, represents a historic milestone, also because of its immediacy. The senators began work in the days after the May 24 massacre at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, in which an 18-year-old man shot and killed 19 children and two teachers. The massacre caused special horror among the American people because of the tragic dimension of the shooting itself – as the hours passed it was learned that the criminal, Salvador Ramos, was killing the little ones, shooting them until they were unrecognizable – but also because it was a society filled with blood. Just ten days earlier, another person killed a dozen people in a supermarket in Buffalo. So far this year, the United States has recorded 213 mass shootings and 17,000 gun deaths. Of these, about 9,500 are recorded as suicides and among all fatalities, 650 are children. According to the Gun Violence Archive, an average of 40,620 people die each year from bullets. “There are more massacres than there are days in the year,” Democratic Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy said.
The task force’s 20 senators have also proposed an ambitious plan to invest billions in mental health programs as a large number of gunmen have previous symptoms of disruption or lack some other motive to drive their actions. They also plan to devote some of the funds to improvements in school safety, which would add to the initiatives put into practice in the past twenty-three years since the Columbine Institute massacre to protect educational centers. against armed invaders.
The pact is a first step, but the authors gave the key yesterday, describing it as a key premise that could lead Congress to dictate the most important national response of the last three decades to this type of violence. Disagreements between the Democrats and Republicans — fueled by the gun lobby — have been constant, but a framework agreement could end so-called qualified majority rule in the Senate, a strategy of obstruction that would prevent the launch of new legislation on gun sales to citizens. Nearly four in ten Americans own between one and five firearms.
“Families are afraid and it is our duty to unite and do something to restore their sense of security in their communities,” said the statement from the senators, whose proposal will enable “saving lives” and protect the constitutional rights of the people. the citizens.
It’s a “step in the right direction,” but “clearly doesn’t do everything I think it needs to,” President Joe Biden said yesterday on the arms trade agreement reached by the 20 Democratic and Republican senators. While far from his expectations, and from what the Democratic Party majority wanted to achieve, he acknowledged that, if passed, it will be “the most significant gun safety legislation passed by Congress in decades.” “Every day that goes by, more children are being killed in this country. It is important that the agreement reaches my office as soon as possible so that I can ratify it and we can use these measures to save lives,” Biden added. Congress. Given the two-party pact struck yesterday, it’s likely that Democrats will gain the backing of conservatives for approval.
Source: La Verdad
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