Let me be clear: The deal in principle by a bipartisan group of U.S. senators doesn’t go nearly far enough to curb gun violence.
But … it is a baby-step start.
The Texas Tribune reports on the deal announced today: The tentative deal includes a mix of modest gun control proposals and funding for mental health. It would incentivize states to pass “red flag” laws, which are designed to keep guns out of the hands of individuals who pose a threat to themselves or others; boost funding for mental health services, telehealth resources and more school security; permit juvenile records to be incorporated into background checks for purchasers under the age of 21 and crack down on the straw purchase and trafficking of guns.
Deal on post-Uvalde shooting gun legislation reached in Senate | The Texas Tribune
U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, the senior Texas Republican, is part of the senatorial team that hammered out the deal.
My own preference would have been to ban assault rifles, raise the minimum age requirements for purchasing firearms from 18 to 21 years of age and launch comprehensive universal background checks for every purchase.
That won’t come forward. House of Representatives Democrats want more. They’re likely to resist what the Senate is pitching.
I am not going to dig in just yet against this plan, which is good remember is just a deal in principle.
However, it is more than we got after Sandy Hook, after Columbine, after Las Vegas, after Sutherland Hills, Aurora, El Paso or Parkland.
Uvalde and Buffalo proved to be the catalyst to provide something.
It is far from ideal. However, I am going to accept it as possibly the beginning of a march toward more meaningful reform to end the gun violence that is killing too many innocent Americans.