US lawmakers pass gun control bill to vet under age, others
Gun-control advocates in the US have been demanding action following mass shootings last month in New York and Texas. Now, lawmakers have approved a bill that aims to tackle violence.
The House of Representatives approved the measure by a vote of 234 to 193 on Friday, one day after it passed the Senate.
The law tightens background checks for people under the age of 21 who want to buy guns. It includes funding for so-called red-flag laws, which allow local authorities to take away firearms from people they consider dangerous.
However, it doesn’t ban the sale of assault rifles – a restriction that had been sought by President Joe Biden.
Experts say the measure is the most significant gun-control legislation in nearly three decades. Democratic Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut and Republican John Cornyn of Texas drove the negotiations.
Lawmakers fast-tracked the bill in response to the two mass shootings last month. In the first, an 18-year-old gunman killed 10 people in a supermarket in Buffalo, New York. In the second, another 18-year-old used an assault rifle to kill 19 students and 2 teachers at an elementary school in Texas.
One Uvalde resident said nobody should have the ability to buy these types of things that can cause this type of pain.
Lawmakers hadn’t passed a major gun-control law since 1994. Since then, hundreds of people have died in mass shootings. This year alone, gun violence has killed more than 20,000 people
