Senate bargainers reached agreement Tuesday on a bipartisan gun violence bill, the parties’ top two negotiators said, teeing up votes this week on an incremental but notable package that would stand as Congress’s response to mass shootings in Texas and New York that shook the nation.
Nine days after Senate bargainers agreed to a framework proposal — and 29 years after Congress last enacted major firearms curbs — Sens. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., and John Cornyn, R-Texas, told reporters that a final accord on the proposal’s details had been reached.
The legislation would toughen background checks for the youngest firearms buyers, require more sellers to conduct background checks and beef up penalties on gun traffickers. It also would disburse money to states and communities aimed at improving school safety and mental health initiatives.
Resolving the two final hurdles that delayed an accord since last week, the bill would prohibit romantic partners convicted of domestic violence and not married to their victim from getting firearms. And it would provide money to the 19 states and the District of Columbia that have “red flag” laws that make it easier to temporarily take firearms from people adjudged dangerous, and to other states that have violence prevention programs.
I should never have sold my wooden stocked Mini 14, but that fella down in Port Protection needed it and offered sea otter furs in trade so...
Reaching agreement on what would be their cut was obviously the hold up.