“This government will not wait for the next mass shooting to heed the call,” he said.
On Thursday, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and many other House Democrats wore orange clothes or face masks in solidarity with the gun security movement, and when they passed the bills, they erupted in applause.
Yet the legislation will join a growing pile of articles on the liberal agenda that are very popular with voters, but apparently fall into the 50-50 Senate, where Democrats must win the support of ten Republicans to pass the most important measures. . It is part of a joint strategy of the Democrats to increase pressure on those in their ranks who oppose the elimination of the legislative filibuster, and to force Republicans to take politically unpopular votes before the 2022 midterm elections.
“A vote is what we need, not hope and prayers,” Democratic leader Senator Chuck Schumer told a news conference Thursday. “We’ll see where people stand.”
In a statement, Brian M. Lemek, executive director of the Brady Political Action Committee, which supports candidates who endorse universal background tests, said the group ‘will make sure every voter knows and does not forget who voted for and who did not vote. this life-saving legislation. The group plans to spend more than $ 10 million in the coming election cycle, a spokesman said.
House Republicans opposed the measures almost uniformly, arguing that the legislation would not make it more difficult for criminals to obtain weapons improperly, but that it would significantly tax legal citizens trying to acquire a firearm.
“These rights protect my life, liberty, and property,” said Utah Republican Rep. Burgess Owens. “They gave me to God; they can not be taken away from me by DC bureaucrats. ”
Eight Republicans voted to promote universal background legislation, while one Democrat, Representative Jared Golden of Maine, opposed it. Two Republicans supported extending the checks from three to ten days, while two Democrats, Mr. Golden and Ron Kind of Wisconsin, with their party broke up to oppose it.
Gun sales have risen over the past year, requiring the FBI to do more background contracts than before, according to data obtained by Everytown for Gun Safety, a non-profit organization dedicated to antigun violence. The data showed that in more than ten months in 2020, the FBI reported 5,807 sales to banned buyers through the Charleston loophole, more than in any other calendar year.