Joe Biden signed the law on Saturday, June 25 intended at establishing weapons control, the most crucial in almost 30 years, but which remains much below what the American president aspired to.
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| [Joe Biden and his wife at the White House] |
"Even though this law does not include everything that I want, it does include measures that I have long called for and that will save lives," President Joe Biden said at the White House after signing the text to put into place gun control regulations. "Even though this law does not include everything that I want, it does include measures that will save lives."
On Friday, the bill, which was supported by members of both the Democratic Party and the Republican Party, was approved by Congress to the delight of both chambers. It imposes additional limitations on firearms and invests billions of dollars on mental health and the safety of schools.
The Uvalde massacre, which took place at the end of May in a Texas elementary school and claimed the lives of 21 people, including 19 children, as well as the Buffalo massacre, which took place in New York State and claimed the lives of 10 black people, prompted the formation of the parliamentary initiative. At the middle of May, they were slain in a store.
In particular, the text intends to tighten the verification of criminal and psychiatric histories for guns purchasers aged 18 to 21, provide stronger control over the unlawful sale of arms, and increase funding for programmes that are specifically devoted to mental health. However, the steps that have been presented fall well short of what President Biden desired, such as the prohibition of assault firearms.
The wording is still a first after a slew of terrible shootings, and it hasn't been done before in recent years. The new law was referred to as "monumental" by President Biden, who was referring to the difficulties of adopting legislation on such a sensitive matter in the United States in the context of a split Congress.
He said that the victims of the killings had sent the following message to him: "Do something (...), damn it, do something." "Well, I guess we accomplished something today," he remarked. He made the commitment, "I am aware that there is still a great deal of work to be done, and I will never give up."