A gun safety package passed in the House on Wednesday appears doomed in the U.S. Senate. The bills collectively called the “Protecting Our Kids Act” passed with only five Republican votes, none from Wisconsin.
It would raise the minimum age to buy semi-automatic rifles from 18 to 21, ban high-capacity magazines and establish storage requirements for gun owners.
The legislation would also list bump stocks under the National Firearms Act, ban bump stocks for civilian use and ensure ghost guns are subject to existing federal firearm protections.
On Thursday, the House voted to pass a federal “red flag” bill intended to keep guns out of the hands of those who pose a threat to themselves or others. That legislation also received just five Republican votes.
Ten Senate Republicans are needed to break the 60-vote filibuster threshold, and that’s unlikely. “You ask yourself, how many children how many Americans have their lives taken away by gun violence until the Congress acts,” Wisconsin Democrat, Senator Tammy Baldwin told WRN.
Don’t look away, Senate Republicans. https://t.co/KkbnGII4Dx
— Sen. Tammy Baldwin (@SenatorBaldwin) June 8, 2022
“I feel like these MAGA Republicans are more beholden to the NRA and the gun manufacturers than they are to the children and families and individuals they represent in their states.”
Asked what he’d support, Republican Senator Ron Johnson deflected, telling reporters “let’s enforce the laws we already have. Let’s start with Hunter Biden.”
Ron Johnson to @tedbarrettcnn: “My main point on any kind of gun control is, let’s enforce the laws that we have. And let’s do it within a justice system that applies the laws equally. Maybe we should start with what Hunter Biden did in terms of his own background checks.”
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) June 7, 2022
Senate negotiators are discussing less bold measures, including encouraging states to create red-flag systems, expanding background checks to incorporate juvenile records, along with funding for mental health programs and school security improvements.
The Republican controlled Wisconsin legislature has previously rejected red flag legislation and expanded background checks.