The Senate voted Tuesday night to take up bipartisan legislation designed to address the spate of mass-shootings that have rocked the country in recent weeks.
The bill, which advanced on a 64-34 vote, would direct federal funding to states to implement red flag laws and to bolster mental health and school-safety programs. Additionally, the bill would mandate increased background checks for gun buyers ages 18-21, giving the FBI up to ten days to review the mental-health and criminal records of young gun buyers.
Negotiations over the legislation were spearheaded by Senators Chris Murphy (D., Conn.), Kyrsten Sinema (D., Ariz.), John Cornyn (R., Texas), and Thom Tillis (R., N.C.). Fourteen Republicans voted to advance the legislation. Senator Pat Toomey (R., Pa.), who has signaled his support for the legislation, was absent.
“Today, we finalized bipartisan, commonsense legislation to protect America’s children, keep our schools safe, and reduce the threat of violence across our country,” the four senators said in a joint statement.
“Unless a person is convicted of a crime or is adjudicated mentally ill, their ability to purchase a firearm will not be impacted by this legislation,” Cornyn said in a statement. Cornyn was booed at the Texas Republican Convention in Houston on Friday over involvement in the negotiations.
Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) also released a statement in support of the bill. McConnell had already announced support for a framework for the bill last week.
“I support the bill text that Senator Cornyn and our colleagues have produced,” McConnell said on Tuesday, calling the bill “a commonsense package of popular steps” to reduce mass shootings.
Senator Mike Lee (R., Utah) released a statement Tuesday night arguing that lawmakers were not given sufficient time to review the 80-page bill before being asked to cast a vote to take up the legislation.
“With only moments to review, no committee hearings, and no regular order, a vote was held with implications concerning an essential constitutional right. The American people deserve better from the world’s ‘greatest deliberative body,'” the statement read.
Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer said he expected the bill to pass by the end of the week.
“This bipartisan gun safety legislation is progress and will save lives,” Schumer said ahead of the vote. “While it is not everything we want, this legislation is urgently needed.”
The bill comes weeks after a mass shooting in Buffalo, N.Y., in which ten people were killed and three others injured, and the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, Texas, in which 21 people were killed. The Uvalde shooter was killed at the scene, while the Buffalo shooting suspect has been charged with domestic terrorism and hate crimes.