Washington - U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland on Monday endorsed a bipartisan Senate gun-safety proposal as "meaningful progress" though some claimed the agreement to rein in gun violence has no game-changing steps banning the deadliest firearms.
Garland announced new gun-trafficking charges in an effort to crack down on the gun violence plaguing America. Commenting on the bipartisan agreement at a news conference he said, "We do think that at least the framework that I read about this morning with respect to the bipartisan negotiations would be meaningful progress in that direction".
Garland also said a Justice Department strike force focused on firearms trafficking had charged a Texas man for illegal purchases and re-sales of 92 guns, 16 of which were later recovered in connection with homicides, assaults and drug trafficking.
The bipartisan agreement, lauded by President Joe Biden, includes support for state "red flag" laws keeping firearms from potentially dangerous people, tougher criminal background checks for gun buyers under age 21 and a crackdown on "straw purchases" by people buying weapons for others who could not pass a background check.
Details of the plan remain in negotiation between Democrats and Republicans, with disagreements over how tightly the initiatives should be drawn. That means the proposal’s potency — and perhaps whether some parts survive — remain undetermined as it’s translated into legislation.
The United States has the highest rate of firearms deaths among the world's wealthy nations. But it is a country where many cherish gun rights and its Constitution's Second Amendment protects the right to "keep and bear arms."
Sunday's announcement marks the farthest that gun reform talks have progressed in Congress since 2013, when legislation failed on the Senate floor following a 2012 Connecticut elementary school massacre.
A National Rifle Association spokesperson said the influential firearms rights group will not take a position on the framework until the detailed legislative text is finalized. She said the NRA would oppose any effort depriving Americans of their gun rights.
With 10 Republicans indicating support, that would overcome the Senate's "filibuster" rule requiring 60 of the 100 senators to agree to advance most legislation. Republicans opposed to the plan are expected to mount procedural hurdles in a bid to block it.
-AP/Reuters