Bipartisan Gun Violence Bill: What Passage Will Mean In Virginia

VIRGINIA — Virginia's senators voted for a bipartisan gun violence bill that has now been approved by the House of Representatives and is headed to President Joe Biden's desk to be signed into law.

The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act will strengthen background checks for the youngest firearms buyers, expand the definition of a gun seller and impose new penalties on gun traffickers. It could also give Virginia and its communities a share of $15 billion to improve school safety and fund mental health initiatives.

Biden said he will sign the act into law.

"Tonight, after 28 years of inaction, bipartisan members of Congress came together to heed the call of families across the country and passed legislation to address the scourge of gun violence in our communities," said Biden in a statement after the Senate voted 65 to 33 Thursday night. "Families in Uvalde and Buffalo – and too many tragic shootings before – have demanded action. And tonight, we acted."

The bill passed the House 234-193 Friday.

The legislation would also make $750 million available to the 19 states and the District of Columbia that have “red flag” laws to make it easier for them to temporarily take away firearms from people who have been adjudged to be dangerous, and to other states with violence prevention programs. To receive the money, a state with a red flag law would have to have a legal process in place for the gun owner to fight removal of the firearm.

Virginia's Emergency Substantial Risk Order "prevents individuals who show signs of being a threat to themselves or others from purchasing, possessing or transporting any kind of firearm," and can be sought by family members, friends, roommates police officers and others.

The bill will be the most significant curb on firearms since an assault weapons ban in the 1990s that was allowed to expire.

“Congress can no longer stand by as the scourge of gun violence tears apart communities. Following tragedy after tragedy, action to make our communities safer couldn’t be more urgent. We support this bipartisan legislation that will improve background checks for buyers under 21, strengthen protections for victims of domestic violence, and make significant investments in community-based mental health services," Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine said in a joint statement. "There is more that can—and must—be done to address gun violence, but we welcome this meaningful progress and look forward to voting for this bill soon.”

Fifteen Republicans joined 48 Democrats and two allied independents in voting for the landmark legislation, crafted in response to a supermarket shooting that killed 10 Black people at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York, and the killing of 19 children and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas.

Agreement on the 80-page bill came nine days after a committee of 20 senators — 10 Democrats and 10 Republicans — reached agreement on the framework.

One sticking point was the “boyfriend loophole.” Current federal law prohibits people convicted of domestic abuse from purchasing a firearm only if they are living with, married to, or have a child with their partner. The proposed legislation would expand restrictions to include domestic violence offenders who have been in a “continuing relationship of a romantic or intimate nature” with their victims.

The legislation falls short of measures Biden and other Democrats sought, such as the reinstatement of an assault weapons ban and restrictions on high-capacity ammunition magazines.

The Uvalde shooting, in particular, had the power that previous mass shootings hadn’t to sway some Republicans to support gun violence legislation.

“I saw a level of fear on the faces of the parents and the children that I spoke to that I’ve never seen before,” Connecticut Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy, the lead Democratic bargainer, told The Associated Press.

He told the AP his colleagues have encountered anxiety among voters “not just for the safety of their children, but also a fear about the ability of government to rise to this moment and do something, and do something meaningful.”

The bill, Murphy said, would “save thousands of lives.” Before entering the Senate, his House district included Newtown, Connecticut, where 20 children and six staff members perished in a 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

The Republicans’ top bargainer, Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, said of the agreement: “Some think it goes too far, others think it doesn’t go far enough. And I get it. It’s the nature of compromise.

“I believe that the same people who are telling us to do something are sending us a clear message, to do what we can to keep our children and communities safe,” he added. “I’m confident this legislation moves us in a positive direction.”

Kentucky Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said the legislation is “a commonsense package of popular steps that will help make these horrifying incidents less likely while fully upholding the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens.”

Besides McConnell and Cornyn, Republicans voting for the Safer Communities Act included Sens. Roy Blunt of Missouri, Richard Burr of North Carolina, Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Joni Ernst of Iowa, Lindsey O. Graham of South Carolina, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Rob Portman of Ohio, Mitt Romney of Utah, Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Patrick J. Toomey of Pennsylvania and Todd C. Young of Indiana.

The National Rifle Association, which has spent decades derailing gun control legislation, denounced the bill.

“It falls short at every level. It does little to truly address violent crime while opening the door to unnecessary burdens on the exercise of Second Amendment freedom by law-abiding gun owners,” the gun lobby group said.

In a win for gun-rights advocates, the Supreme Court overturned a New York law that limits people from carrying concealed handguns outside of their homes Thursday morning. California, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Rhode Island have similar laws, according to The New York Times.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.