WASHINGTON, D.C. — The bipartisan Senate group was finally able to agree on the text of a gun safety bill together and a vote was held on Wednesday ahead of the two-week break during the Independence Day holiday.
The bill passed 64 to 34 less than two hours after the final text was published. When asked why so many Republicans voted against the bill if it was bipartisan, Sen. John Cornyn told Raw Story it was because people were miffed they didn't have enough time to see the final text before voting on it.
"Some people felt like they were being crunched," said Cornyn.
Republicans have been negotiating for the past several weeks with Democrats over the top issues, so anyone casually monitoring the discussions would know what was in the legislation. Senators also could have asked colleagues for any specifics.
The bill wasn't what Democrats wanted, leaving out a number of items on their list like increasing the age to buy a gun to 21 or increasing the age to buy an automatic weapon to 21 years old.
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT), who has pushed gun safety legislation since the Sandy Hook massacre in his home state asked not to let the "perfect be the enemy of good." While the bill isn't what Democrats want, it makes some minor changes that will help in the future.
Cornyn previously called the joint bill a "loss" for President Joe Biden.
One of the top issues linking mass shootings is domestic violence. The existing laws only considered firearms restrictions on people who abused their partners if they were married, lived together or had children together. So, other intimate partners, like anyone who was abused by someone they dated became a loophole. The bill sought to close that.
Cornyn wouldn't say whether he was getting calls from the state about the bill. He was booed over the weekend for his willingness to work on the legislation.
With additional reporting from Matt Laslo.
