- The House of Representatives passed the bipartisan gun control package Friday afternoon sending it to President Joe Biden’s desk
- It’s the most significant firearms bill passed in decades
- The vote came amid protests and celebrations outside the Supreme Court due to the court’s decision to overrule Roe v. Wade
The House of Representatives passed the bipartisan gun control package Friday afternoon sending it to President Joe Biden’s desk.
In a vote of 234 to 193, with the help of 14 Republicans, the House followed the Senate’s lead in green-lighting the legislation – the most significant firearms bill passed in decades.
Biden is headed to Germany and then Spain early Saturday morning for G7 and NATO meetings – and will likely sign the legislation before he departs.
The vote came amid protests and celebrations outside the Supreme Court due to the court’s decision to overrule Roe v. Wade – with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle participating.
It received a 65-33 vote in the U.S. Senate late Thursday night, after a month of negotiations that eventually found a compromise on one of the country’s most contentious political issues.
It passed after 15 Republicans, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, ignored former President Donald Trump’s demand they vote against it.
‘I don’t think I could agree with Senator Mitch McConnell on where to go to have lunch,’ remarked Rep. Jim McGovern, a Massachusetts Democrat, as he kicked off debate on the House floor Friday morning.
McGovern applauded the Senate Republicans, also name-dropping Trump ally Sen. Lindsey Graham, who voted for the bill – and asked House GOP members to follow their lead.
House GOP leadership has instructed members to vote against the legislation.
‘I know I’m asking you to voite against your party’s leadership. I know that’s a tough spot to put some of my Republican friends in. But I think at the end of the day, you owe yourself to consider this one idea: what is this bill stops even one mass shooting from happening?’ McGovern said.
Democratic Rep. Lucy McBath, whose late son was a victim of gun violence, was chairing the debate.