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House passes gun reform bill, first part of upcoming package

June 9, 2022 | | Print Article

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill to raise the minimum age from 18 to 21 for buying semi-automatic weapons.

Democrats celebrated the move after legislation passed Wednesday mostly along party lines, which included many of the proposals lawmakers have been pushing even before the most recent mass shootings in Buffalo, New York and Uvalde, Texas.

According to Business Insider:

The age hike was part of a package of gun safety bills known as the Protecting Our Kids Act, introduced by Rep. Jerry Nadler, which was broken up into certain gun policies, including prohibiting the sale of ammunition magazines with a capacity of more than 15 rounds, to pressure GOP congresspeople resistant to tighter gun laws.

The different sections were voted on individually, and 10 GOP members voted on retaining Title I. Overall, five GOP members voted in favor of the whole package.

 

“Thank you to @SpeakerPelosi & the House for passing bipartisan legislation to strengthen gun laws & protect children. Soon, the House will do more to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people. We continue to work hard with both parties to save lives and stand up for families,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre tweeted late Wednesday.

While the legislation has little chance of passing in the Senate, a handful of Republicans joined their Democrat colleagues in the House to vote in favor of the gun measure package that is being referred to as the Protecting Our Kids Act.

“It has little chance of clearing the Senate as it pursues negotiations focused on improving mental health programs, bolstering school security and enhancing background checks,” Fox News reported.

“The bill would also prohibit the sale of ammunition magazines with a capacity of more than 15 rounds,” Fox News noted, adding that it “also includes incentives designed to increase the use of safe gun storage devises and creates penalties for violating safe storage requirements, providing for a fine and imprisonment of up to five years if a gun is not properly stored and is subsequently used by a minor to injure or kill themselves or another individual.”

Ahead of the vote Wednesday, Rep. Greg Steube, a Florida Republican, had argued against the under-21 gun ban portion of the package of bills.

Frieda Powers
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