Biden signs gun control bill

published 26 June 2022

President Biden on Saturday signed into law the first major federal gun reform bill in three decades.

"God willing, it's going to save a lot of lives," Biden said after signing the bill as his wife, first lady Jill Biden, looked on. Biden also said the Supreme Court "has made some terrible decisions," alluding to the court's ruling on Thursday that Americans have the right to carry handguns for self-defense and to its Friday decision overturning Roe v. Wade.

YouTube

Watch On

The legislation was crafted by a bipartisan team headed by Sens. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) in response to mass shootings in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

The gun safety bill — which encourages states to pass "red flag" laws, closes a loophole that allowed some abusive romantic partners to purchase firearms, and directs billions of dollars to mental health services — passed the Senate on Thursday night with the support of 15 Republicans and all 50 Democrats.

It passed the House 234-193 the following day, with 14 House Republicans voting in favor of the bill.

Explore More

Grayson Quay was the weekend editor at TheWeek.com. His writing has also been published in National Review, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Modern Age, The American Conservative, The Spectator World, and other outlets. Grayson earned his M.A. from Georgetown University in 2019.