Senate bipartisan group strike a deal

From this afternoon's NYT:

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WASHINGTON — Senate negotiators announced on Sunday that they had struck a bipartisan deal on a narrow set of gun safety measures with sufficient support to move through the evenly divided chamber, a significant step toward ending a yearslong congressional impasse on the issue.

The agreement, put forth by 10 Republicans and 10 Democrats and endorsed by President Biden and top Democrats, includes enhanced background checks to give authorities time to check the juvenile and mental health records of any prospective gun buyer under the age of 21 and a provision that would, for the first time, extend to dating partners a bar on domestic abusers having guns.

It would also provide funding for states to implement so-called red-flag laws that allow authorities to temporarily confiscate guns from people deemed to be dangerous, as well as money for mental health resources and to boost safety and mental health services at schools.

The outline, which has yet to be finalized, falls far short of the sprawling reforms that Mr. Biden, gun control activists and a majority of Democrats have long championed, such as a ban on assault weapons and universal background checks. And it is nowhere near as sweeping as a package of gun measures passed almost along party lines in the House last week, which would bar the sale of semiautomatic weapons to people under the age of 21, ban the sale of large-capacity magazines and implement a federal red-flag law, among other measures.

But it amounts to notable progress, given the deep party divisions over how to address gun violence and repeated failed efforts to approve gun reform on Capitol Hill, where Republicans have thwarted action for years. Democrats hailed the plan, which would also toughen federal laws to stop gun trafficking and ensure that all commercial sellers are doing background checks, as an opportunity to pass the most significant gun safety legislation in decades.

“Today, we are announcing a common-sense, bipartisan proposal to protect America’s children, keep our schools safe and reduce the threat of violence across our country,” the 20 senators, led by Christopher S. Murphy, Democrat of Connecticut, and John Cornyn, Republican of Texas, said in a joint statement. “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.”

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It is progress.

I listened today to children who survived Sandy Hook. They are now older teenagers. I wonder what children think when they see these debates and resistance to truly effective measures such as large cap magazine bans. Children are watching us decide just how many of them we are OK with getting killed compared to the freedom to purchase these tremendously lethal weapons. What goes through their minds when they think about the fact that so many people are willing to see them die? Will it make them more reverential of life or will, when they come to their time to order society, make them unfeeling or careless about life, having seen themselves as potential cannon fodder? And how will they treat us, the elders that debated the value of their lives against the freedom to purchase a gun?

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But in these cases
We still have judgment here — that we but teach
Bloody instructions, which, being taught, return
To plague the inventor. This even-handed justice
Commends the ingredients of our poisoned chalice
To our own lips.

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William Shakespeare, "Macbeth", Act 1, Scene 7

A one-word response: Senate.

That government institution does not necessarily follow Congress hand in hand. Frankly, I expect the Senate to substantially water down what Congress has done.

Hunter

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Originally Posted by UTAH

A one-word response: Senate.

That government institution does not necessarily follow Congress hand in hand. Frankly, I expect the Senate to substantially water down what Congress has done.

Hunter

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This "accord" is rooted in the Senate and proposed by a 20 member bipartisan group of Senators, 10 from each party. That pretty much assures a filibuster proof majority, I don't see a block coming from the House.

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Originally Posted by UTAH

A one-word response: Senate.

That government institution does not necessarily follow Congress hand in hand. Frankly, I expect the Senate to substantially water down what Congress has done.

Hunter

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Not to nit-pick, but Congress is comprised of both the House and the Senate. I do understand your point, though.

Without seeing what the actual bill will say there is no way of knowing what effect this "accord" might have.

I really like the enhanced mental health resources if it really comes to pass. That is an area that has been neglected for far too many years. Texas pretty much left the mental health problems to law enforcement and now our jails are housing people who need mental health care, not incarceration with criminals. Our fool of a governor actually took $210 million from Health and Human Services and sent it to the border. The border is a problem but so is mental health.

I like the enhanced background check on those younger than 21, but why stop there? Why not do it for everyone otherwise qualified to purchase a firearm? I would like to see universal background checks, too. What makes a private sale different from buying from a dealer? When I purchase a firearm the background check usually only takes a couple of minutes and it is really fast if I give them my carry permit.

I've never been much in favor of "red flag" laws - there is too much room for abuse.

The school safety funding could help, but it is not a solution. It's not even much of a band aid as Uvalde shows. All it takes is one simple mistake, like leaving a door unlocked, to let be bad guys in and I don't think having law enforcement stationed at every door and window is doable.

Overall, they have just kicked the can down the road in favor of saying "we did something". That probably has something to do with the mid-terms coming up soon.

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Overall, they have just kicked the can down the road in favor of saying "we did something".

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I agree----but at least the can is going to move :clap:

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Originally Posted by Dave Grubb

I agree----but at least the can is going to move :clap:

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Not far enough.

Mike raises valid and supportable issues regarding gun control. Frankly, if our people elected him to a national office, we'd see our government improve.

Maybe I'm showing a bias as well as political naivety, but I do not foresee our Reps and Senators doing much other than window dressing. Other than raising the age limit for buying specific firearms, it'll be a wash.

Hunter