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NRA Responds to Senate’s Gun-Control Bill

https://www.theepochtimes.com/nra-responds-to-senates-gun-control-bill_4550592.html

The National Rifle Association (NRA) responded to the Senate’s gun control package by saying it “falls short on every level.”

“The NRA will support legislation that improves school security, promotes mental health services, and helps reduce violent crime. However, we will oppose this gun control legislation because it falls short at every level. It does little to truly address violent crime while opening the door to unnecessary burdens on the exercise of Second Amendment freedom by law-abiding gun owners,” the NRA wrote in a statement Tuesday.

On Tuesday, the Senate released 80 pages of the bill, which includes funding for states that implement red flag laws, more background checks for gun purchasers under the age of 21, and penalties for straw purchases. That same day, the Senate voted to advance the bill 64 to 34 as 14 Republicans support the measure, meaning that it has enough votes to pass the 60-vote threshold to overcome the filibuster.

The NRA continued to say that the bill “can be abused to restrict lawful gun purchases, infringe upon the rights of law-abiding Americans, and use federal dollars to fund gun control measures being adopted by state and local politicians.”

“This bill leaves too much discretion in the hands of government officials and also contains undefined and overbroad provisions–inviting interference with our constitutional freedoms,” the pro-Second Amendment group said. “Decisions by the Supreme Court of the United States in the Heller and McDonald cases make clear that the Second Amendment is an individual constitutional freedom. We will always fight for those freedoms–and the fundamental values we have defended for over 150 years. ”

Controversy
Earlier this month, Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) announced they came to an agreement on a proposed gun-control framework after several high-profile mass shootings, including in New York and Texas. In Texas, a top law enforcement on Tuesday said that a shooting that left 19 children dead in Uvalde could have been prevented if law enforcement acted more quickly and described the police response as a failure.

Some Republican senators said they won’t support the bill.

“I do not support this legislation and will continue to vote against it,” Senate Republican Conference Chair John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) said in a statement. “As a senator from Wyoming, I know the meaning of the Second Amendment. I will not vote for any legislation that would jeopardize the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens.”

And a number of House Republican lawmakers have argued that it shouldn’t be passed because it supports red flag laws, which they described as unconstitutional and in violation of its Due Process Clause.

Cornyn, meanwhile, was resoundingly booed and jeered over the past weekend when he delivered a speech at the Texas GOP convention. A pro-gun rights group demanded that he apologize after he called the crowd a “mob.”

Should have added this one too. Totally revolting. “Training” for schools”, “more security”. If the bill doesn’t authorize arming teachers and training them what to do shooter situations, it’s utterly worthless. Raising age to 21 is also totally insane. The whole thing is worthless. I have these plans:
1. Arm and train teachers
2. Put dangerous crazy people in mental hospitals.
3. Put convicted dangerous felons in prison with appropriate sentences.
4. Execute murderders.
5. Have armed and trained security people at schools, not mall cops.

4 Key Proposals in Senate’s Gun Control Bill

https://www.theepochtimes.com/4-key-proposals-in-senates-gun-control-bill_4548643.html

A bipartisan group of senators on June 21 unveiled the text of a gun control bill, with a vote expected this week.

The bill includes key proposed changes to existing law.

Closing ‘Boyfriend Loophole’
A 1996 amendment to the Federal Gun Control Act barred people convicted of “a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence” from buying or owning a gun.

Such a crime is defined as a misdemeanor under federal state, tribal, or local law and must have been committed by “a current or former spouse, parent, or guardian of the victim, by a person with whom the victim shares a child in common, by a person who is cohabiting with or has cohabited with the victim as a spouse, parent, or guardian, or by a person similarly situated to a spouse, parent, or guardian of the victim.”

Critics have been trying to get lawmakers to broaden the law to apply to people who commit crimes against their boyfriend or girlfriend. Gun control groups refer to the issue as the “boyfriend loophole.”

The new bill would change “or by a person similarly situated to a spouse, parent, or guardian of the victim” to “or by a person who has a current or recent former dating relationship with the victim.” And it would also add a definition of “dating relationship,” stating that it refers to “a relationship between individuals who have or have recently had a continuing serious relationship of a romantic or intimate nature,” with considerations of whether a relationship constitutes a dating relationship including the length of the relationship, the nature of the relationship, and the frequency and type of interaction between the individuals involved in the relationship.

“A casual acquaintanceship or ordinary fraternization in a business or social context does not constitute a dating relationship of a romantic or intimate nature,” the proposed language states.

The bill would also add people convicted of domestic violence who are in dating relationships to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS).

Funding for ‘Red Flag’ Laws
Nineteen states have laws that enable courts to strip people of their constitutional rights to own a gun. The laws are known as “red flag” laws, and have resulted in thousands of Americans being ordered not to possess guns because of concerns about their mental health.

The new bill would utilize grants from the Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant program to support states that impose such laws, or already have them in place.

It would do so by altering the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act 9 of 1968.

Under that act, the attorney general is authorized to make the grants to state and local governments “to provide additional personnel, equipment, supplies, contractual support, training, technical assistance, and information systems for criminal justice.”

The new legislation would add “civil proceedings” after “criminal justice” and state that the grants can go towards “implementation of State crisis intervention court proceedings and related programs or initiatives” such as “extreme risk protection order programs,” or the red flag laws.

In order for the programs to receive grants, they must include certain rights for the accused, including the right to an in-person hearing before the courts rule on attempted enforcement, and the right to present evidence.

Intensifying Background Checks

When people under the age of 21 attempt to buy a firearm, more intense background checks would kick in if the bill is passed.

While some Democrats have hoped for an outright ban on firearm sales to individuals under 21, the compromise bill would not go as far.

Instead, it would bolster the NICS to more thoroughly examine juvenile criminal records.

In addition, it would impose a three-day waiting period between an attempt to purchase a firearm and actually being able to purchase it. If NICS finds a potentially disqualifying record in need of further investigation, that waiting period is lifted to 10 days; at the end of that period, if the firearm dealer has not been informed that a purchaser is disqualified from possessing a firearm, the sale is allowed to go through.

To counter this, the bill includes a provision providing for the removal of “false, expired, or erroneous records” to ensure that legally-qualified buyers aren’t flagged under the expanded NICS requirements.

Expanding School Security, Mental Health Programs
A great portion of the bill focuses on expanding access and funding to mental health programs as preventative measures against future mass shootings.

The bill would furnish around $15 billion over the next five years to expand mental health access and enhance school security, first to be distributed to states who propose a comprehensive pilot program for using the funds.

More than a dozen new initiatives, including creating a network of “community health behavioral centers” and expanding access to telehealth services, are included in the bill.

To offset the $15 billion expenditure, the bill would delay a Medicare drug rebate program for one year, which proponents say will save the federal government $21 billion.

Another focus for GOP negotiators was enhanced school security, and much of the $15 billion appropriation would be devoted to this end.

The legislation emphasizes programs for early identification and intervention with students who may become a threat to other students or teachers. As a corollary, the bill would expand resources for school mental health services.

$300 million of the bill is exclusively devoted to instituting stricter safety measures at schools and providing training to school staff and students.