US Senate pushes gun violence bill forward

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Semi-Automatic Rifles at US Gun Show (July 2012)

Photo: Jim Lo Scalzo / dpa

After the massacre in Uvalde, Texas, support for a new law to protect against gun violence is forming in parts of the US political community.

The way for such a regulation could be cleared as early as this week.

“I believe that this week we will pass legislation that will be the most significant gun violence law passed by Congress in the last 30 years.

This is a breakthrough.

And more importantly, it's a bipartisan breakthrough," said Senator Chris Murphy, the leading Democrat in the bipartisan negotiations on Tuesday.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has announced that he will submit a bill to the House of Representatives "as soon as possible" to serve as a bill for the Senate.

It would be the first step of its kind in decades.

“This bipartisan gun safety legislation is a step forward and will save lives.

While it doesn't cover everything we want, this legislation is badly needed," Schumer said.

Among other things, a ban on assault rifles - which are used in many killing sprees - did not make it into the paper.

It was not even enough to raise the minimum age for purchasing these de facto weapons of war.

McConnell speaks of "reasonable package"

Schumer's Republican counterpart, Mitch McConnell, pledged his support, calling the bill "a sensible package."

Attempts to tighten gun laws in the United States have repeatedly failed in the past because of the Republicans in Congress.

The Democrats have enough votes to pass the bill in the House of Representatives.

With the Senate splitting into 50-seat Democrats and Republicans each, a new gun bill will need the support of at least 10 Republicans to pass.

These are necessary to overturn the so-called filibuster with which the Republicans have so far blocked all changes to the gun laws.

After the worst school shooting in nearly a decade, thousands of people across the United States protested for stricter gun laws.

At least 19 children and two teachers were killed on May 24 at an elementary school in the state of Texas, authorities said.

Clear appeal from the White House

US President Joe Biden had spoken out clearly in favor of tightening gun laws.

Due to the tight majority, his party is dependent on the support of the opposing camp.

"How much more bloodshed are we willing to accept?" Biden asked at the White House in Washington in early June.

"We cannot fail the American people again."

Biden called it unscrupulous that the Republicans in the US Senate had blocked any tightening of the regulations until then.

Before the congressional elections in November, he called on Americans to "put this issue at the center of their voting decisions."

jok/Reuters