JAKARTA - The long-awaited United States Senate approved a gun control bill late Thursday, weeks after mass shootings in Uvalde, Texas, and Buffalo, New York, killed more than 30 people, including 19 children. child.
The bill, passed by a 65-33 vote, is the first significant gun control law passed in three decades, in a country with the highest gun ownership per capita in the world and the highest number of mass shootings annually among wealthy nations.
"This bipartisan law will help protect Americans. Children in schools and communities will be safer because of it," President Joe Biden said after the vote.
"The DPR must immediately vote on this bipartisan bill and send it to my desk," he continued.
The bill, which advocates say will save lives, is simply the most important restriction on gun ownership, tightening background checks for potential gun buyers convicted of domestic violence or significant crimes as juveniles.
Republicans refuse to compromise on broader gun control measures favored by Democrats including President Biden, such as a ban on assault rifles or high-capacity magazines.
"This is not a cure for all the ways gun violence affects our nation, but it is a long overdue step in the right direction," said Senate Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer ahead of the vote.
In a Senate vote Thursday night, 15 Republicans joined 50 Democrats in voting for the bill.
Republican supporters of the new gun safety law say the move does not erode the rights of law-abiding gun owners, who are among their most ardent constituency.
"It doesn't really touch the rights of the majority of American gun owners, who are law-abiding and sound-minded citizens," said Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, who supports the legislation.
House Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi lauded the bill's passage, saying in a statement that it would go to the House on Friday, with a vote taking place as soon as possible.
Republican lawmakers have instructed their members to vote against the bill, although because the assembly is controlled by Democrats, their support is not required for the bill to pass.
The Senate's action comes weeks after President Biden's impassioned speech, in which he declared 'enough' gun violence and urged lawmakers to act.
Opinion polls show a majority of Americans support some of the new limits on firearms, demands that usually increase after mass shootings such as those in Texas and New York.
More than 20,800 people have died in gun violence in the United States so far this 2022, including through homicide and suicide, according to the Gun Violence Archive, a nonprofit research group.
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