Senators say agreement on gun violence is at hand

WASHINGTON >> Senate bargainers have reached agreement on a bipartisan gun violence bill, the parties' top two negotiators said Tuesday, teeing up votes this week on an incremental package that would stand as Congress's response to mass shootings in Texas and New York that shook the nation.

Nine days after Senate bargainers agreed to a framework proposal — and 29 years after Congress last enacted major firearms curbs — Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., told reporters that a final accord on the proposal's details had been reached and was “in good shape.” Moments later, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, the chief Republican bargainer, said he, Murphy and the other two top Senate bargainers had reached agreement.

The legislation lawmakers have been working toward would toughen background checks for the youngest firearms buyers, require more sellers to conduct background checks and beef up penalties on gun traffickers. It also would disburse money to states and communities aimed at improving school safety and mental health initiatives.

It lacks the far more potent proposals that President Joe Biden supports and Democrats have pushed for years without success, derailed by GOP opposition. These include banning assault-type weapons or raising the minimum age for buying them, prohibiting high-capacity magazines and requiring background checks for virtually all gun sales.

Yet if enacted, the election-year agreement would spotlight a modest but telling shift in the politics of an issue that has defied compromise since Bill Clinton was president.

It seemed likely a majority of Republicans — especially in the House — would oppose the legislation. Underscoring the backlash GOP lawmakers supporting the pact would face from the most conservative voters, delegates booed Cornyn at his state's Republican convention Saturday as he described the measure.

The measure will need at least 10 GOP votes to reach the 60-vote threshold major bills often need in the 5050 Senate. Ten Republican senators had joined with 10 Democrats in backing the framework, and Cornyn said he believed those Republicans would see bargainers “tried our best to be true” to that earlier outline.