Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer pledged to move forward on this gun legislation as soon as possible, with an expected motion to proceed.
WASHINGTON, DC, USA – A bipartisan group of lawmakers released the first significant gun control legislation in decades on Tuesday, June 21, paving the way for the US Senate to move to a vote this week, following two mass shootings that killed dozens of people and sent shock waves through a nation plagued by gun violence.
Lawmakers said the Senate was likely to take its first procedural vote later on Tuesday on a motion to proceed to a bill from the House of Representatives that would serve as the Senate’s legislative vehicle. “This bipartisan gun-safety legislation is progress and will save lives. While it is not everything we want, this legislation is urgently needed,” Schumer said in a statement.
The biggest gun lobby in the country, the National Rifle Association, said on Twitter that it opposed the legislation because it could be abused to restrict lawful gun purchases. The politically powerful group’s statement could affect how many Republicans vote on the measure. The legislation’s release on Tuesday would help ensure the odds of Senate passage before lawmakers leave for their two-week July 4 break. Some aides suggested lawmakers could stay into the weekend to vote on the bill.