US President Joe Biden has signed a law to tighten control over the circulation of firearms in the country. It is reported by Reuters.
“It will save a lot of lives,” Biden said.
The bill tightens background checks on gun buyers under the age of 21 and also bans the sale of guns to those who have previously been convicted of domestic violence for five years. The agency clarifies that this is the first major gun reform in the US in 30 years.
Earlier, Biden urged members of the House to immediately vote for the bill and send it to the table: “Tonight, after 28 years of inactivity, members of Congress from both parties came together to heed the call of families across the country and pass legislation aimed at combating violence with the use of firearms in our society. Families in Uwald and Buffalo - and too many past tragic shootings - demanded action. Today we are acting,” the president said in a statement quoted by the BBC. After that, the law was supported by the House of Representatives and the US Senate.
On June 23, the US Supreme Court overturned legislation passed earlier in New York that restricted the right of citizens to bear arms. Previously, city residents wishing to obtain a license for concealed carrying of weapons were required to substantiate their desire and prove that something could threaten them. The court ruled that the demands on New Yorkers violated their "constitutional right to bear arms."
There were two major shooting incidents in the US in May. One of them is in a supermarket in Buffalo, New York. On May 15, an 18-year-old teenager killed 10 people, and three more were injured. According to authorities, the crime was motivated by racial hatred. The shooter was armed with an automatic rifle, a guard tried to shoot him, but the attacker also killed him. A few days later, on May 24, an armed 18-year-old teenager opened fire at an elementary school in Uwalde, Texas. As a result, 19 children and 2 adults died, 10 people were hospitalized with injuries. The assailant, a local resident, Salvador Romas, was shot dead, he was a high school student of the same school.
