An AR-15 is displayed after a person who allegedly pointed it at officers on Feb. 15, 2015, was shot and killed by police in Provo. Provo Police Division
The U.S. Home of Representatives on Wednesday handed a few of the hardest gun management measures Congress has permitted in years, banning the sale of semiautomatic weapons to these underneath the age of 21 and banning the sale of large-capacity magazines.
The Defending Our Children Act handed on a principally party-line vote — 223-204 — with 5 Republicans in favor and two Democrats in opposition to. The invoice now heads to the Senate, the place — with a 60-vote threshold to go — it faces an unsure future.
Utah Rep. John Curtis, a Republican, criticized the method of the laws, saying in an announcement Tuesday he would “fortunately contemplate considerate laws that retains weapons out of the arms of these we are able to all agree shouldn’t have them. That's clearly not what is going on within the Home this week.”
Will the gun management invoice go within the Senate?
In accordance with most specialists and analysts, the Defending Our Children Act is unlikely to go wherever within the evenly divided Senate, as most Republican senators stay against stricter gun management.
The invoice “stands no probability” within the Senate, writes The New York Occasions. The Washington Publish stated the measure “will quantity to little greater than a political messaging train” within the face of GOP opposition.
In accordance with The Guardian, the vote provides Democrats an opportunity to point out voters the place they stand on insurance policies to forestall gun violence forward of the November midterms.
The Home voted on the invoice after hours of testimony from victims and members of the family of the latest elementary college capturing in Uvalde, Texas, that killed 19 youngsters and two adults. That included listening to from 11-year-old Miah Cerrillo, who lined herself with a useless classmate’s blood to maintain herself from being shot.
“It’s sickening, it’s sickening that our youngsters are pressured to stay on this fixed worry,” stated Home Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.
“We are able to’t save each life, however my God, shouldn’t we strive?” stated Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas. “America we hear you and right now within the Home we're taking the motion you're demanding. Pay attention to who's with you and who isn't.”
Republicans argued that the invoice goes in opposition to the Second Modification, together with Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio.
“The reply is to not destroy the Second Modification, however that's precisely the place the Democrats need to go,” he stated.
A bipartisan group of senators is in talks to attempt to discover frequent floor on gun coverage, in accordance with CNN, however it’s unclear what that might appear like.
The place do Utah’s lawmakers stand on gun reform?
All 4 of Utah’s representatives voted in opposition to the Home invoice, however Curtis signaled he's open to a dialogue on how finest to cut back gun violence.
“It’s clear to me that we gained’t finish these mass shootings with partisan proposals put collectively in the midst of the evening, significantly when there are lots of Republicans, together with myself, who need to resolve these points,” he stated in an announcement on Tuesday.
Curtis appeared on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Thursday and expressed willingness to discover a answer, however wouldn’t decide to a selected coverage with out additional analysis. He stated most proposals for purple flag legal guidelines violate particular person rights to due course of, however stated he’d be prepared to have a look at methods to verify harmful individuals don’t have firearms with out infringing on rights.
Though Congress voted to permit federal funds be used to check gun violence in 2018 — so long as the analysis doesn’t advocate for gun restrictions, per The Washington Publish — Curtis stated the federal authorities hasn’t spent sufficient cash to supply vital knowledge to work off of.
“I feel that’s a dialog we must be having,” he stated.
On Thursday, Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, advised CNN’s Ana Cabrera that he helps elevating the age to buy an assault rifle from 18 to 21.
“You must be 21 to purchase a handgun so saying you additionally must be 21 to purchase an assault rifle appears to make sense,” he advised CNN.