A bipartisan group of senators has reached a watered-down agreement on gun safety that could lead to some new federal gun restrictions, as well as increased funding for mental health and school security. The plan would also provide funding to states to create red flag laws that would prohibit some people from owning firearms. The deal, however, does not include a ban on assault weapons or raise the age required to buy assault weapons to 21. It also does not establish universal background checks. In a statement, President Biden said,, “It does not do everything that I think is needed, but it reflects important steps in the right direction, and would be the most significant gun safety legislation to pass Congress in decades.”

The deal was reached by 20 senators — 10 Democrats and 10 Republicans. Negotiations began after the recent mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, where 19 fourth graders and two teachers were shot dead, and the massacre in Buffalo, when a white supremacist attacked a grocery store, shooting dead 10 people, all of whom were Black.

On Sunday, Christian Heyne, vice president of the gun control group Brady, praised the bipartisan deal.

Christian Heyne: “We have not seen the likes of a framework like what we see in this package for the last 30 years. And I think it’s significant not only because of how this can have a real impact on lives, but to me it feels like a moment in time and a sign of things to come, right? This is sort of testing ground that we can pass bipartisan gun laws and the sky won’t fall. And for all of those reasons, I think that this agreement is really important.”