President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will host a ceremony Monday at the White House to celebrate the passage of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act.
The bill was passed in Congress and signed into law last month. Biden signed the bill before departing for a trip overseas.
Joining Biden will be survivors of mass shootings, including Jerome Bridges, who survived the May 14 shooting at a Buffalo, N.Y. grocery store. The legislation came in the weeks following mass shootings in Buffalo and at a Texas elementary school.
“Some of the presidents in the past cared, but this one really cares about what happens in his nation. To me, he's one of the best I've ever known," Bridges told Scripps station WKBW about his White House visit.
The bill passed the House with mainly Democratic support. The bill was approved by a 234-193 margin with 14 Republicans joining all 220 Democrats in passage.
The Senate approved the legislation by a 65-34 margin, with the support of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and 14 other GOP members. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy encouraged House Republicans to vote against it.
The bill had opposition from the National Rifle Association.
The legislation will include the following:
- Funds for states to implement red flag laws
- Family mental health spending
- Getting rid of the so-called “boyfriend loophole” by including those convicted of domestic abuse in background checks
- Funding for school-based mental health programs
- Funding for school safety resources
- Clarifying the language of a federally licensed firearm dealer
- Investments in telehealth programs
- Implementing a waiting period on gun purchases for those under age 21
- Penalties for straw purchases of firearms
