On Sunday, a group of Democratic and Republican senators from across the United States announced they had reached an agreement to tighten controls on gun sales in the country. The agreement was reached after much pressure from US politicians and public opinion over the recent Uvalde, Texas, elementary school massacre in which an 18-year-old boy killed 19 children and 2 teachers with a semi-automatic rifle.
A very restrictive bill introduced by Democrats was approved by the House of Representatives in recent days, but the Senate has no chance of passing it due to opposition from Republicans. In fact, Republicans and Democrats each have 50 seats in the Senate: 60 votes are needed to pass the text.
The agreement reached on Sunday was signed by 10 Republican senators, which would allow for the number of votes needed to pass a bill. Among other things, the text provides for individual states to be allocated more funding to pass rules, dubbed red flags, that allow police and families to ask a court to temporarily remove guns from people who hold guns for themselves and others could be dangerous.
It also envisages strengthening support for people with mental illness and strengthening safety measures in schools. However, the agreement does not include raising the minimum age to purchase semi-automatic rifles from 18 to 21, which was instead included in the bill approved by Parliament.
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