Demonstrators hold placards as they take part in the 'March for Our Lives', one of a series of nationwide protests against gun violence, in Washington DC, US, on June 11, 2022.WASHINGTON — In a potential breakthrough toward the first significant new US gun law in decades, a bipartisan group of senators on Sunday announced an agreement on a framework for a firearms safety bill with enough Republican support to advance in the narrowly divided Senate.
Democratic Senator Chris Murphy, who led the negotiating effort alongside Republican Senator John Cornyn, said "the heavy lifting is behind us" after three weeks of intensive talks, though a "significant amount of work" remains. Murphy said he hoped for Senate passage by early August or sooner.The deal was announced a day after tens of thousands of people rallied in Washington and around the United States to urge lawmakers to pass legislation to curb gun violence.
Sunday's announcement marks the furthest that gun reform talks have advanced in Congress since 2013, when legislation failed on the Senate floor following a 2012 Connecticut elementary school massacre. Murphy, who represents Connecticut, has dedicated a major part of his decade-long Senate career to gun control following that tragedy.
A National Rifle Association spokesperson said the influential firearms rights group will not take a position on the framework until the detailed legislative text is finalised. She said the NRA would oppose any effort depriving Americans of their gun rights. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell stopped short of embracing the framework but said he hoped for progress in the bipartisan talks."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," Biden said in a statement.
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