After school massacre: run-up to minimally stricter gun laws in the USA
Washington - Almost three weeks after the massacre at an elementary school in Texas, a bipartisan group in the US Senate has agreed on proposals for better protection against gun violence.
This includes, among other things, more intensive screening of potential gun buyers under the age of 21, as the majority leader of the US Democrats in the Senate, Chuck Schumer (71), announced on Sunday.
The ban on assault rifles demanded by US President Joe Biden (79) and other Democrats is not planned. Biden stated that the proposals did not contain all the measures he considered necessary, but were a step in the right direction.
Schumer's statement said that the proposals were also aimed at extending state laws that make it possible to confiscate weapons from potentially dangerous people. Illegal gun trafficking should be punishable at federal level. In addition, "our nation's mental health crisis" should be addressed.
Republicans in particular argue that the spike in gun attacks is due to an increase in mental illness - and not the easy availability of these firearms in the US.
New proposal falls behind other proposed legislation
In the small Texan town of Uvalde, an 18-year-old with an assault rifle shot and killed 19 children and two teachers in an elementary school on May 24. Afterwards, Biden criticized that it was "unscrupulous" that the Republicans in the US Senate were blocking any tightening of gun laws.
A few days ago, the US House of Representatives voted in favor of a bill to raise the age limit for purchasing assault rifles from 18 to 21. The proposal put forward by the ten Democratic and ten Republican senators on Sunday falls far short of this.
"Today we are announcing a commonsense, bipartisan proposal to protect America's children, keep our schools safe, and reduce the threat of violence across the country," a joint statement from the 20 senators said. The plan would save lives while protecting the constitutional rights of law-abiding Americans.
Biden called on the Senate to quickly pass a corresponding law. The House of Representatives would then have to approve the bill and Biden would have to sign it. On Saturday, numerous people demonstrated in Washington and other cities in the USA in favor of stricter gun laws.