This past Tuesday evening, a select group of 14 Republicans has chosen to side with the primarily Democrat effort to push through a new gun control bill through the Senate.
A notable few of that selection of Republican senators were Sens. John Cornyn (R-TX), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who all chose to work with Democrats in order to push through a procedural vote, ending in a 64-34 split, just a short two hours after the bill managed to hit the floor.
The bill itself could possibly be passed officially later this week by the Senate and then fly its way over to circulate through the House, at which is also expected to glide through. After which the bill would then head to the Oval Office to Biden’s desk to await signing.
Most notably about the bill, the 80-page document sports quite a few highly controversial and extremely worrying ‘red flag laws.’
As reported by Fox News, the bill “provides grants for states that implement their own red flag laws and offers additional funding for both school safety measures and mental health services.”
However, Cornyn made the claim while on the Senate floor that this new bill “would not create a national red flag law, adding that states could receive the funding regardless of whether they enact such a program,” read a report from The Hill.
“The measure also creates penalties for straw purchases of firearms, requires more gun sellers to register as Federally Licensed Firearm Dealers and closes the so-called boyfriend loophole by prohibiting gun access for people convicted of domestic abuse against an intimate partner,” stated Fox News about the new gun control bill.
Many Gun rights groups are already up in arms about the legislation and the group of Republicans that crossed the aisle to assist in its passing.
As stated in a press release from the Gun Owners of America (GOA), the legislation “would encourage Backdoor Universal Background Checks by redefining many private sellers as gun dealers, financially incentivize states to enact unconstitutional ‘red-flag’ laws, and would allow for so-called ‘enhanced background checks,’ which are arbitrary delays in transferring firearms to adults not yet 21 years-old.”
“Once again, so-called ‘conservative’ Senators are making clear they believe that the rights of American citizens can be compromised away,” stated the GOA’s Senior Vice President, Erich Pratt.
“Let me be clear, they have NO AUTHORITY to compromise with our rights, and we will not tolerate legislators who are willing to turn gun owners into second-class citizens,” Pratt went on. “GOA fully opposes this unconstitutional legislation and will continue to encourage our millions of members to make their voices heard to their elected officials on this bill.”
The list of Republicans who voted in favor of the bill includes:
- Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX)
- Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
- Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC)
- Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA)
- Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO)
- Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC)
- Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT)
- Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH)
- Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV)
- Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA)
- Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)
- Rep. Todd Young (R-IN)
- Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC)
- Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME)