Will the gun-control deal change anything?

The sharpest opinions on the debate from around the web

Rifles.
(Image credit: Illustrated | iStock)

Twenty senators — 10 Democrats and 10 Republicans — have announced an agreement on a framework for modest gun-control measures in response to the recent mass shootings at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, and a grocery store in Buffalo, New York. The deal calls for enhancing background checks on people from ages 18 to 21 before they can take possession of guns, and establishing a federal grant program encouraging states to adopt red-flag laws to keep firearms away from people with mental health issues who are deemed to pose a threat to themselves or others. Other provisions would close the "boyfriend loophole," preventing gun sales to domestic violence offenders other than spouses, and provide billions of dollars for mental health care and school security programs, including more armed officers.

The proposed restrictions would not achieve Democrats' goal of banning assault-style rifles and high-capacity ammunition magazines altogether, or even raising the age to buy assault rifles from 18 to 21. Nor would the deal also take other strict steps such as imposing universal background checks. But Democratic negotiators say that passing any bill that can help prevent mass shootings would be a big win. "We cannot let the congressional perfect be the enemy of the good," said Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), the No. 2 Senate Democrat. "Though this agreement falls short in this and other respects, it can and will make our nation safer."

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Harold Maass, The Week US

Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.