The House of Representatives passed a bipartisan gun legislation package Friday morning, sending the historic bill to President Biden’s desk to be signed into law.
The measure was approved 234-193, with 14 Republicans siding with Democrats, exactly one month after an 18-year-old used a military-style assault weapon to kill 19 students and two teachers in a mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) brought the bill to a floor vote early Friday, just hours after the legislation passed in a 65-35 Senate vote.
“Every day, gun violence steals lives and scars communities — and this crisis demands urgent action. While we must do more, the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act is a step forward that will help protect our children and save lives,” Pelosi said ahead of the vote in a tweet.
The bill is the strongest piece of gun legislation passed in Congress since the 1994 assault weapons ban — though that expired 10 years later.
Specifically, it strengthens background checks for gun buyers who are under 21 years old and provides financial incentives for states to create mental health services and implement “red flag” laws. It also increases penalties for straw purchases of firearms, and closes the so-called “boyfriend loophole,” prohibiting romantic partners convicted of domestic violence from obtaining firearms.
Biden is expected to swiftly sign the legislation.
“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. Families in Uvalde and Buffalo — and too many tragic shootings before — have demanded action. And tonight, we acted,” the president said following the bill’s passage in the Senate.
“This bipartisan legislation will help protect Americans. Kids in schools and communities will be safer because of it.”
