The U.S. Senate has approved a bipartisan gun safety bill by a vote of 65 to 33. The vote comes just weeks after the mass shootings in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas, that killed more than 30 people. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer praised the bill.
Majority Leader Chuck Schumer: “This is not a cure-all for all the ways gun violence affects our nation, but it is a long-overdue step in the right direction. Passing this gun safety bill is truly significant, and it’s going to save lives.”
Measures in the bill include expanded background checks for individuals under the age of 21 and financial incentives for states to pass red flag laws. The Senate bill, however, does not include a number of gun control initiatives that were included in a recent bill approved by House Democrats which aimed to ban the sale of large-capacity magazines and raise the minimum age to purchase an assault weapon from 18 to 21.