Gun bill receives Biden’s signature

‘Lives will be saved,’ he says in U.S. bid to curb violence

President Joe Biden signs into law S. 2938, the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act gun safety bill, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, Saturday, June 25, 2022. First lady Jill Biden looks on at right. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
President Joe Biden signs into law S. 2938, the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act gun safety bill, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, Saturday, June 25, 2022. First lady Jill Biden looks on at right. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

WASHINGTON -- President Joe Biden on Saturday signed the most sweeping gun bill in decades, a bipartisan compromise that seemed unimaginable until a recent series of mass shootings, including the massacre of 19 students and two teachers at a Texas elementary school.

"Time is of the essence. Lives will be saved," he said in the Roosevelt Room of the White House. Citing the families of shooting victims he has met, the president said, "Their message to us was, 'Do something.' How many times did we hear that? 'Just do something. For God's sake, just do something.' Today we did."

The House gave final approval Friday, after Senate passage Thursday, and Biden acted just before leaving Washington for two summits in Europe.

"Today we say, 'More than enough,'" Biden said. "It's time, when it seems impossible to get anything done in Washington, we are doing something consequential."


The legislation will toughen background checks for the youngest gun buyers, keep firearms from more domestic violence offenders and help states put in place red flag laws that make it easier for authorities to take weapons from people adjudged to be dangerous.

The president called it "a historic achievement."

Most of its $13 billion cost will help bolster mental health programs and aid schools, which have been affected by shootings such as Newtown, Conn., and Parkland, Fla.

Biden said the compromise hammered out by a group of senators from both parties "doesn't do everything I want" but "it does include actions I've long called for that are going to save lives."

"I know there's much more work to do, and I'm never going to give up, but this is a monumental day," said the president, who was joined by his wife, Jill, a teacher, for the signing.

After sitting to sign the bill, Biden sat reflectively for a moment, then murmured, "God willing, this is gonna save a lot of lives."

He also said they will host an event on July 11 for lawmakers and families affected by gun violence. The president spoke of families "who lost their souls to an epidemic of gun violence. They lost their child, their husband, their wife. Nothing is going to fill that void in their hearts. But they led the way so other families will not have the experience and the pain and trauma that they had to live through."

Biden signed the measure two days after the Supreme Court's ruled Thursday to strike down a New York law that restricted people's ability to carry concealed weapons.

While the new gun law does not include tougher restrictions long championed by Democrats, such as a ban on assault-style weapons and background checks for all firearm transactions, it is the most impactful gun violence measure produced by Congress since enactment a long-expired assault weapons ban in 1993.

Enough congressional Republicans joined Democrats in supporting the steps after recent rampages in Buffalo, N.Y., and Uvalde, Texas. It took weeks of private talks but senators emerged with a compromise.

Biden signed the bill just before departing Washington for a summit of the Group of Seven leading economic powers -- the United States, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan -- in Germany. He later planned to travel to Spain for a NATO meeting.

  photo  President Joe Biden with first lady Jill Biden delivers remarks before signing into law S. 2938, the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act gun safety bill in a ceremony in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, Saturday, June 25, 2022. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
 
 
  photo  President Joe Biden speaks before signing into law S. 2938, the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act gun safety bill, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, Saturday, June 25, 2022. First lady Jill Biden listens at right. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
 
 
  photo  President Joe Biden signs into law S. 2938, the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act gun safety bill, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, Saturday, June 25, 2022. First lady Jill Biden looks on at right. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
 
 
  photo  President Joe Biden speaks before signing into law S. 2938, the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act gun safety bill, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, Saturday, June 25, 2022. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
 
 
  photo  President Joe Biden speaks before signing into law S. 2938, the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act gun safety bill, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, Saturday, June 25, 2022. First lady Jill Biden looks on at right. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
 
 
  photo  President Joe Biden speaks before signing into law S. 2938, the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act gun safety bill, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, Saturday, June 25, 2022. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
 
 
  photo  President Joe Biden signs into law S. 2938, the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act gun safety bill, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, Saturday, June 25, 2022. First lady Jill Biden looks on at right. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
 
 
  photo  President Joe Biden signs into law S. 2938, the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act gun safety bill, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, Saturday, June 25, 2022. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
 
 
  photo  President Joe Biden delivers remarks before signing into law S. 2938, the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act gun safety bill in a ceremony in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, Saturday, June 25, 2022. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
 
 


Upcoming Events