U.S. House Democrats passed the bill to require background checks on all gun sales and a 10-day review for all firearm purchases.
With a final vote of 227 to 203 on Thursday morning, only one Democrat voted no. Eight Republicans supported the bill.
On Tuesday, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green tweeted out, “HR 8 and HR 1446 are just more gun control legislation violating Americans’ great right to bear arms. I hope the Democrats come to their senses and realize gun rights are American rights.”
“What they want to do is create lists… when you do a background check, you have to register for it,” she said, “When you put gun owners on lists, what does that lead to later on? It leads to gun confiscation.”
The bill now goes to the Senate for a final vote, before heading to the Presidents desk.
It is unclear yet whether Senate Democrats could find enough support among Republicans to pass new gun control legislation in a 50-50 Senate, as they would need 60 votes to pass this legislation.
U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she and her colleagues have promised survivors of shootings and family members of those killed, that “we are not going away” until the background checks legislation passes.
“The gun violence crisis in America is a challenge to the conscience of our country – one that demands that we act,” Pelosi said during floor debate on the bills on Wednesday, “These solutions will save lives.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said this week that the background checks legislation will “be on the floor of the Senate and we will see where everybody stands.”
“A vote is what we need,” Schumer added, “Not thoughts and prayers.”
During the debate Wednesday, Republicans argued that background checks would not stop most mass shootings and would mistakenly prevent some lawful gun owners from purchasing firearms.
Rep. Scott Perry said the bill would lead to more crime because there would be “less people out there defending themselves.”
Senator Chris Murphy, who has introduced a companion bill expanding background checks in the Senate, said he still believes there could be unity around the gun issue, and that a “growing anti-gun violence movement, made up of both Democrats and Republicans, is demanding change.”
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