On Thursday night, the United States Senate passed a radical gun control bill by a margin of 65 to 33, with 15 Republicans joining all 50 Democrats in support.
As reported by ABC News, the 15 Republicans who voted in favor are: Senators Richard Burr (R-N.C.), Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.V.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Mitt Romney (R-Utah), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Pat Toomey (R-Penn.), and Todd Young (R-Ind.).
Joe Biden voiced his support for the gun control bill, claiming that it would “address the scourge of gun violence in our communities.”
“This bipartisan legislation will help protect Americans,” Biden falsely claimed. “Kids in schools and communities will be safer because of it. The House of Representatives should promptly vote on this bipartisan bill and send it to my desk.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) vowed to bring the bill up for a vote on the floor of the House “swiftly,” which could happen as soon as Friday. In the lower chamber, Republican leadership has encouraged members of the party to vote against the bill, which remains widely unpopular and has drawn backlash against the Republicans who supported it.
“The bill throws emergency supplemental federal spending at states to encourage implementation of red flag laws and dramatically increases funding for numerous other grant programs,” said House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) in a memo to fellow Republicans. “But the bill’s vague language contains insufficient guardrails to ensure that the money is actually going towards keeping guns out of the hands of criminals or preventing mass violence.”
The bill, which is estimated to cost at least $13.2 billion, includes such controversial policies as increased federal background checks for anyone under 21 seeking to purchase a firearm, as well as providing financial incentives for individual states to implement their own “red flag laws.”
The bill’s passage comes amidst the most contentious debate on gun rights in recent memory, after a handful of shootings in recent weeks in Buffalo, New York and Uvalde, Texas. On Thursday, the Supreme Court dealt a major blow to gun control efforts by striking down a New York state law that made it much more difficult for residents to obtain a concealed-carry permit.