Senators introduce bipartisan gun safety bill

A group of senators released a bipartisan gun safety bill on Tuesday evening, which would enhance background checks for gun buyers between the ages of 18 and 21 and give states control over what juvenile records they want to share.

Speaking from the Senate floor on Tuesday, Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), the lead GOP negotiator, said the legislation "provides an incentive for states to upload the records that reflect on the suitability of the individual to purchase a firearm."

The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act would also, for the first time ever, make it so serious dating partners are included in a federal law that prohibits domestic abusers from buying firearms, The New York Times reports.

Subscribe to The Week

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

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

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.

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

Sign up

"Our legislation will save lives and will not infringe on any law-abiding American's Second Amendment rights," Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Ct.), Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), and Cornyn said in a joint statement. "We look forward to earning broad, bipartisan support and passing our common-sense legislation into law."

Additionally, the bill includes federal money that states can use to create red flag laws, which give law enforcement the ability to petition a court to temporarily take away firearms from a person they believe is a danger to themselves or others, NPR reports. It also contains funding for community-based mental health programs, tele-health programs, and school safety training.

Lawmakers aim to have the legislation approved by the Fourth of July recess, the Times says, and it appears to have the 60 votes needed to pass the evenly-divided Senate.