Biden hails proposals from senators to curb gun violence

WASHINGTON • United States President Joe Biden has praised limited proposals from senators on curbing gun violence as "important steps", while noting that they fall short of his calls for more radical change.

"Obviously, it does not do everything that I think is needed, but it reflects important steps in the right direction, and would be the most significant gun safety legislation to pass Congress in decades," he said yesterday in a statement.

A bipartisan group of US senators reached a tentative deal on new gun safety legislation following last month's mass shootings in Texas and New York.

Senators led by Democrat Chris Murphy of Connecticut and Republican John Cornyn of Texas said the deal includes giving grants to states to enact and implement "red flag" laws allowing courts to remove guns from potentially dangerous owners, and more funding for mental health services and school safety.

The agreement also includes provisions aimed at improving records available for background checks of younger gun buyers, and would ensure that convicted domestic violence abusers or those with domestic violence restraining orders are included in a national system for background checks.

Significantly, 10 Republicans signed on to the framework, the number that would be needed to edge legislation past an expected filibuster in the Senate.

"Families are scared, and it is our duty to come together and get something done that will help restore their sense of safety and security in their communities," the 20 senators involved in the talks said in a statement.

In addition to providing new resources and trying to keep some weapons from potentially dangerous buyers, the group said it would also protect "the constitutional rights of law-abiding Americans".

The agreement is a significant breakthrough after years of very little progress in Congress on gun legislation, but negotiators still must agree on all the details as they draft legislation in coming days.

Some of the negotiators have said they were hopeful that legislation could move before the Senate leaves for a July 4 holiday recess.

Reaching a deal will get harder beyond that as lawmakers increasingly focus on the looming mid-term elections.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he wants to put the legislation before the full Senate "as soon as possible".

"After an unrelenting wave of gun-related suicides and homicides, including mass shootings, the Senate is poised to act on commonsense reforms to protect Americans where they live, where they shop and where they learn," Mr Schumer said in a statement.

"We must move swiftly to advance this legislation because if a single life can be saved it is worth the effort."

The framework on gun safety reform came a day after tens of thousands of demonstrators gathered in Washington and at hundreds of rallies across the US to demand that lawmakers pass legislation aimed at curbing gun violence.

In the nation's capital, organisers with March For Our Lives (MFOL) estimated that 40,000 people assembled on Saturday at the National Mall near the Washington Monument under occasional light rain. The gun safety group was founded by student survivors of the 2018 mass shooting at a Parkland, Florida, high school.

A gunman in Uvalde, Texas, killed 19 children and two teachers on May 24, 10 days after another gunman murdered 10 black people in a Buffalo, New York, grocery store in a racist attack.

BLOOMBERG, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE