US President Biden today signed the first major federal gun reform in three decades, a bipartisan compromise that comes in light of a recent series of mass shootings.
The law, deemed the first significant federal bill on gun safety in decades, falls short of what is really needed, Biden acknowledged on Saturday, but it will save lives, he said.
“While this bill doesn’t do everything I want, it does include actions I’ve long called for that are going to save lives,” Biden said at the White House before leaving for two major diplomatic summits in Europe.
The bill includes provisions to toughen background checks for the youngest gun buyers, keep firearms from more domestic violence offenders, and help states put in place red flag laws that make it easier for authorities to take weapons from people adjudged to be dangerous.
Most of the bill’s $13bn estimated cost will be directed towards bolstering mental health programmes and aid schools, which have been targeted in Newtown, Connecticut, and Parkland, Florida, and elsewhere in mass shootings.
Billions of dollars have also been allocated to crack down on “straw purchasers” – people who buy firearms for people not allowed to own them – and to curb gun trafficking.
