WASHINGTON – The House has approved the first of several gun bills, a priority for Democratic leaders who have been impatient over years of little success in the matter amid broad Republican opposition.
The vote was 227 to 203 on a measure to extend the background checks to almost all weapons. Eight Republicans supported the bill, while one Democrat opposed it.
The House separately prepared to vote on extending the window for background checks to ten days from three days, giving law enforcement authorities more time to vet individuals before they can buy guns.
Both gun measures were passed by the House in 2019, after the Democrats regained control of the chamber in the midterm elections, but weakened in the Senate when the then majority leader, Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.), Did not did not want to vote.
The prospects for legislation in the current Democratic Senate are uncertain, but the effort could give the party’s attempt to change the rules in the now divided chamber more momentum to make bills easier.