US Senate passes first gun control bill in decades

The US Senate has passed a gun control bill - the most significant firearms legislation in nearly 30 years.

Fifteen Republicans joined Democrats in the upper chamber of Congress to approve the measure by 65 votes to 33.

It follows mass shootings last month at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, and a primary school in Uvalde, Texas, that left a combined 31 people dead.

The bill will now have to pass in the House of Representatives before President Biden can sign it into law.

This could happen within days.

Although significant, the proposals fall far short of what many Democrats and activists have called for.

The reforms include tougher background checks for buyers younger than 21 and $15bn (£12.2bn) in federal funding for mental health programs and school security upgrades.

It also calls for funding to encourage states to implement "red flag" laws to remove firearms from people considered a threat.

And it closes the so-called "boyfriend loophole" by blocking gun sales to those convicted of abusing unmarried intimate partners.

The bill is also significant because it is the first time in decades that proposed reforms have received this level of support from both Democrats and Republicans. Historically, efforts to strengthen US gun laws have been blocked by the Republican party.

Republican Senator John Cornyn of Texas, who co-led the negotiations with Democratic Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut, said on the chamber floor that the bill would make Americans safer.

"I don't believe in doing nothing in the face of what we saw in Uvalde and what we've seen in far too many communities," Mr Cornyn said.

"Doing nothing is an abdication of our responsibility as representatives of the American people here in the United States Senate."

Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said: "This is not a cure-all for the ways gun violence affects our nation, but it is a long overdue step in the right direction."

Source: BBC