PHOENIX — 19 days after a gunman in Uvalde killed 19 children and two teachers, a group of 20 U.S. senators has reached a bipartisan agreement addressing gun violence in America.
The announcement comes just a day after thousands rallied across the country in the March for Our Lives protest in the wake of the violent mass shootings in Uvalde, Texas and Buffalo, New York.
Composed of 10 Democrats and 10 Republicans each, the group includes both of our Senators, Mark Kelly and Kyrsten Sinema.
Both confirmed the agreement in separate press releases on Sunday morning.
"Families are scared, and it is our duty to come together and get something done that will help restore their sense of safety and security in their communities," both releases said.
The lawmakers also shared their announcement on Twitter.
The agreement would offer states financial incentives to implement "red flag" laws for temporarily withholding guns from people considered potentially violent, as well as funding school safety and mental health service programs.
Although the proposal does not raise the legal age to purchase a firearm from 18, it would implement an investigative period to review juvenile and mental health records for buyers under 21.
The proposal doesn't meet some of the tougher steps pushed for by President Biden and many Democrats, but it does mark a significant shift in the legal approach to gun control and the response to gun violence.
If passed, this "would be the most significant gun safety legislation to pass Congress in decades," said President Biden in a statement on Sunday.
Likewise, President Biden extended a special thanks to Sen. Sinema as one of the four key lawmakers whose "tireless work" produced the proposal.
As former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords said in a statement on Twitter, this will be a long hard haul, but the outlook is optimistic.
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