Biden signs landmark gun control bill into law with bipartisan support ‘to save lives’
- US president called legislation most significant of its kind for years; it will restrict gun access for youngest buyers and bolster mental health support
- ‘Today we say, more than enough’; 15 Republican senators and 14 House Republicans joined all Democrats in voting to support it
President Joe Biden signed gun-safety legislation into law that he called the most significant of its kind in decades, restricting firearms access for the youngest buyers and offering incentives for states to set up “red flag” laws.
“How many times have we heard that – ‘just do something,’” Biden said in comments at the White House on Saturday. “Well, today, we did. While this bill doesn’t do everything I want, it does include actions I’ve long called for that are going to save lives.”
Congress approved the bill with unusual speed, two days after the Supreme Court struck down a New York gun law and ruled that the US constitution’s Second Amendment protects gun rights outside the home. Fifteen Republican senators and 14 House Republicans joined all Democrats in voting to support it.
Biden said at the signing ceremony that he will host an event at the White House on July 11 to mark the legislation’s passage. He reeled off a list of US mass shooting and lamented “the number of people killed every day in the streets,” adding: “Today, we say ‘More than enough.’”
A bipartisan group of lawmakers crafted the gun measures in response to gun massacres in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas.
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It was welcome news at the White House, arriving on the same day the high court overturned the right to abortion, a ruling Biden called a “tragic error”.