“This government is not going to wait for the next mass shooting to answer that call,” he said.
On Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and many other House Democrats wore orange clothes or masks in solidarity with the arms security movement, bursting into applause on the floor when the bills passed.
Still, the legislation will join a growing pile of items on the liberal agenda that are widely popular with voters, but seem destined to languish in the 50-50 Senate, where Democrats must win the support of 10 Republicans to pass the majority of the elections. important measures. It is part of a combined strategy by Democrats to increase pressure on those in their ranks who resist removing legislative obstruction and to force Republicans to obtain politically unpopular votes ahead of the 2022 midterm elections.
“We need a vote, not hopes and prayers,” Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic leader, said on Thursday during a news conference. “We will see where people are.”
In a statement, Brian M. Lemek, executive director of Brady’s political action committee, which supports candidates who endorse universal background checks, said the group would “ensure that every voter knows and does not forget who voted and did not vote for this one. life-saving legislation. The group plans to spend “more than $ 10 million” in the next half-term election cycle, a spokeswoman said.
House Republicans almost uniformly opposed the measures, arguing that the legislation would not make it more difficult for criminals to improperly receive weapons, but would impose a significant burden on law-abiding citizens who try to buy a firearm.
“These rights protect my life, freedom and property,” said Representative Burgess Owens, Republican of Utah. “They were given to me by God; they cannot be taken from me by DC bureaucrats ”.
Eight Republicans voted to advance universal background legislation, while one Democrat, Representative Jared Golden of Maine, opposed it. Two Republicans supported extending the check duration from three to ten days, while two Democrats, Golden and Ron Kind, from Wisconsin, broke with their party to oppose it.
Weapon sales increased last year, requiring the FBI to conduct more background checks than before, according to data obtained by Everytown for Gun Safety, a nonprofit organization dedicated to anti-violence. These data showed that more than 10 months in 2020, the FBI reported 5,807 sales to prohibited buyers through the Charleston breach, more than in any other entire calendar year.