June 13, 2022

Of course it's not enough. But it's the first gun deal we've gotten in decades, and it will save lives. More importantly, now that the logjam has been broken, it will make it possible to get GOP support for even more legislation in the future. Via CNN:

A bipartisan group of senators unveiled an agreement on principle for gun safety legislation Sunday, providing an overview of a forthcoming package of reforms to address one of the nation’s most pressing and divisive issues in the wake of mass shootings in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas.

One of the biggest factors still to be sorted out in the framework agreement is how the legislation will be written. The announcement includes the support of 10 Republican senators, which would give the proposal enough support to overcome the Senate filibuster – but maintaining it through the legislative process will be a massive challenge for lawmakers to accomplish before the next congressional recess in two weeks.

Still, Democrats have an ambitious goal: draft the bill and keep Republicans on board before the next recess, aides tell CNN. Many of the details in the plan are still unsettled, according to one aide, who also provided CNN with a more detailed rundown as of Sunday on how some of the proposed provisions would work.

Here are the details, via the New York Times:

But as the talks continued, Senator Christopher S. Murphy of Connecticut, the lead Democratic negotiator, said steady progress was being made, and that the talks had a different feel from the failed efforts of the past. On Sunday, he said on Twitter that he thought Americans would be “surprised” at the scope of the legislative framework, which included more substantial measures than the ones initially on the table.

The more extensive background check for buyers aged 18 to 21 is a narrower version of a change Democrats have been promoting for years, which would allow more time to vet potential gun buyers who are flagged by an initial instant check. And for the first time, juvenile and mental health records will be allowed as part of that review.

The deal includes federal incentives for states to enact so-called red flag laws to seize guns temporarily from those deemed a threat to themselves and others. And in a long-sought change that has been opposed by Republicans in the past, it would also make it harder for those accused of domestic violence to obtain guns, adding dating partners to a prohibition that currently applies only to spouses.

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