On Saturday, June 25th, 2022, President Biden signed the bipartisan gun safety package into law, the first major gun violence legislation passed in decades.
The bill, titled the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, was released by Republican Sens. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Democratic Sens. Chris Murphy (D-CT) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ). Fifteen Republican Senators joined all 50 Democratic Senators to pass the bill late Thursday evening; the House quickly passed the bill on Friday 234-193, with 14 Republicans joining the Democrats, and sent it to the President for his signature.
The bill includes funding for crisis services and federal certified community health centers, as well as funding for school mental health programs and school security. The bill does not ban weapons or raise the age to purchase firearms, provisions that Democrats and President Biden had called for.
