President Joe Biden signed into law the largest-scale gun violence bill in decades on Saturday, a bipartisan compromise that seemed unthinkable until a recent wave of mass shootings, including the massacre of 19 students and two teachers at a Texas elementary school. .
“Time is of the essence. “Life will be saved,” he said, referring to Roosevelt at the White House. Citing the families of shooting victims he met, the president said, “His message to us was, ‘Do something.’ How many times have we heard that? Do something. For God’s sake, just do something.” Today we did. ”
The House received its final approval on Friday, after passing the Senate on Thursday, and Biden acted before departing for two summits from Washington to Europe.
“Today we say more than enough,” Biden said. “There is a time when it is impossible to do anything in Washington, we are doing something.
The legislation will bolster younger gun buyers in the background, protect firearms from more perpetrators of domestic violence, and help states enact red flag laws that make it easier for law enforcement to take firearms from dangerous people.
The president called this a “historic achievement”.
Most of its $13 billion cost will help strengthen mental health programs and support schools hit during the mass shootings in Newtown, Connecticut, Parkland, Florida and elsewhere.
Biden said the compromise reached by a bipartisan group of senators on both sides “doesn’t do everything I want” but “includes actions I’ve been calling for a long time that will save lives.”
“I know there is still a lot of work to do and I will never give up, but this is a monumental day,” said the president, who added the signature of his wife, Jill, a teacher.
After sitting down to sign the bill, Biden sat for a moment and muttered, “God willing, this will save many lives.”
He also said they would host an event on July 11 for lawmakers and families affected by guns. The president spoke about the families who “lost their lives due to the epidemic of gun violence. They lost a son, a husband, a wife. Nothing can fill the void in their hearts. But they continued so that other families wouldn’t have the experience, pain and trauma they had to endure. ”
Biden signed the measure on Thursday, two days after a Supreme Court decision struck down a New York law that restricted people from carrying secret weapons. And Saturday’s ceremony came less than 24 hours after the Supreme Court overturned a ruling against Rowe Wade that would have legalized abortion nationwide for nearly five decades.
“I spoke to the Supreme Court yesterday about the shocking ruling against Rowe Wade,” Biden said. “Jill and I both know how painful and devastating the decision is for so many Americans. I mean many Americans. ”
He noted that the abortion bill leaves oversight to states, some of which have already moved to ban abortion or will soon. Biden said his administration “will focus on how it’s implemented and whether it violates other laws, like deciding not to allow people to cross state lines to get health care.”
Asked by reporters whether the Supreme Court had been violated, Biden said: “I think the Supreme Court made terrible decisions.” He left without answering any more questions, saying, “I have a helicopter waiting to take off.”
While the new gun law does not contain tougher restrictions that Democrats have long imposed, such as banning assault firearms and scrutinizing all firearm transactions, it is the most influential gun violence measure produced by Congress for a long time. period of time. Prohibition of Assault Weapons in 1993.
Some Republicans in Congress have joined Democrats in supporting these moves in Buffalo, New York, and Walton, Texas, after the recent anger. The closed-door talks took weeks, but the senators committed.
Biden signed the bill before heading to Washington for a summit of the seven major economic powers – the United States, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan – in Germany. He will later travel to Spain for a NATO summit.
Source: Hollywood Reporter
Camila Luna is a writer at Gossipify, where she covers the latest movies and television series. With a passion for all things entertainment, Camila brings her unique perspective to her writing and offers readers an inside look at the industry. Camila is a graduate from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a degree in English and is also a avid movie watcher.
