The Democratic-controlled U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill this week that would require federal background checks on gun sales.
The bill was the first vote on gun control legislation in the House since the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. A gun control bill sponsored by Democrats failed to pass the Senate in 2013 – a few months after the shooting.
Representative Jahana Hayes of Connecticut said she’d seen the effects of gun violence firsthand in her hometown of Waterbury.
“I’ve lived in a neighborhood where the sound of gunshot in the distance was as normal as hearing church bells. And as a teacher and a mother, I’ve seen firsthand how the fear of violence affects our children.”
The bill passed the House of Representatives 240 to 190. It now goes to the Republican-controlled Senate, where it’s not expected to pass.
U.S. Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut spoke in favor of the bill on the Senate floor before the vote in the House.
“That background check assures that only people who should be buying and owning guns buy and own guns. People that don’t have violent criminal histories, people who don’t have histories of serious mental illness.”
The House will vote on a second bill this week to extend the review period for background checks from three to 10 days.
President Donald Trump says he would veto both bills. Trump says they don’t protect gun owners’ Second Amendment rights.
