President Biden on Saturday signed into law a bipartisan legislative package focused on preventing gun violence, calling it the “most significant” gun safety legislation in 30 years.
“From Columbine to Sandy Hook, to Charleston, Orlando, Las Vegas, Parkland, El Paso, Atlanta, Buffalo, Uvalde, and for the shootings that happen every day in the streets,” the message from advocates and families was simple, said Biden: “‘Do something … for God’s sake, just do something.’ Well today we did.”
The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act — which passed by a vote of 65-33 in the Senate on Thursday and by a vote of 234-193 in the House on Friday — includes measures to curb gun access to young adults, those who commit domestic violence, and individuals deemed a danger to themselves or society. The package also allocates millions of dollars to allow states to develop crisis intervention programs and includes significant investments in pediatric mental health care.
Biden thanked Congress, as well as the families and advocates who lost loved ones to “an epidemic of gun violence,” for helping push the bill through.
“Nothing is going to fill that void in their hearts,” he said. “But they led the way so other families will not have the experience and the pain and trauma that they had to live through.”
While the package doesn’t have “everything” he wanted, the measures it does include will save lives, the president said.
“It funds crisis intervention, including ‘red flag’ laws. It keeps guns out of the hands of people who are a danger to themselves and to others,” said Biden. “And it finally closes what is known as ‘the boyfriend loophole.’ So if you assault your boyfriend or girlfriend, you can’t buy a gun or own a gun.”
The law will require individuals ages 18 to 21 to receive enhanced background checks, strengthens laws against gun trafficking and straw purchases, and more clearly defines who must register to be federally licensed gun dealers and perform background checks before selling a weapon.
In the realm of mental health, the legislation also includes funding to directly address the “youth mental health crisis,” especially survivors of gun violence, and invests in anti-violence programs.
The law provides $750 million for states to develop and run crisis intervention programs, $200 million for grants under the Stop School Violence Act, and $200 million to upgrade the National Criminal Instant Background Check System. Another $250 million will be invested in community violence and prevention initiatives, and millions of dollars will also directly target pediatric mental health in schools.
Clinicians, Hospitals Respond
Physician, nurse, and hospital groups praised Congress for taking “meaningful action” to address what many have acknowledged is a growing public health crisis.
“Every day, emergency physicians shoulder the honor of being on the front lines while bearing the responsibility of treating the victims of firearms violence. We bear witness to this public health crisis and see firsthand how deeply it affects the lives of our patients, their families, and the communities we serve,” said Gillian Schmitz, MD, president of the American College of Emergency Physicians, in a press release.
“We thank Congress for taking these concrete steps to improve the safety and well-being of all Americans, including our children and victims of domestic abuse,” Schmitz added.
The American Medical Association (AMA) was also pleased to see the bill signed into law.
“[F]or the first time in nearly three decades, new measures to confront the public health crisis of gun violence are law. This law will save lives,” said AMA President Jack Resneck, Jr., MD, noting that over 40,000 people are killed by firearms each year.
“As physicians, we treat the victims of gun violence each day. We’ve seen the horrific wounds from weapons of war and spent countless hours counseling patients and loved ones,” Resneck said in a statement. “This law isn’t a panacea, and more work remains to prevent firearm violence, but it is an important, critical step in the right direction.”
American Nurses Association President Ernest Grant, RN, PhD, also lauded the passage of the “landmark gun safety legislation that will take meaningful action to address serious public health crises in the United States,” and highlighted that nurses “know firsthand the horrible toll that guns have taken on our families and communities.”
“The legislation includes significant investments in mental health, school safety, and school mental services. Notably, it will provide $250 million for the Community Mental Health Services Block grant which enable States, the District of Columbia, and territories to expand access to mental health care,” Grant said in a press release. “It will provide funding to increase awareness of mental health issues among school-aged children; and to train school personnel and other adults who interact with school-aged children to detect and respond to mental health issues.”
America’s Essential Hospitals also weighed. “The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act offers hope to our nation and to its health care workers, who face increased personal risk as caregivers often on the front lines of workplace violence. It would make needed investments in behavioral health care for youth and families and resources for providers, including for telehealth, community clinics, and mental health training,” said President and CEO Bruce Siegel, MD, MPH, in a statement.
“This legislation takes important steps toward lowering the disproportionate impact of violence on people of color and other marginalized groups. We must build on this progress with research, education, and prevention to further understand and respond to the root causes of violence,” he added.
The AMA has resources intended to help physicians address firearm violence, noted a press release following the Senate’s passage of the bill, including a continuing medical education module centered around recognizing risk factors and having conversations with patients to help reduce firearm-related injuries and deaths.
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