As negotiations continue in the Senate, House members passed late Wednesday a sweeping gun control package called the “Protect Our Kids Act”, a first of a nearly 30-year trend of inaction on devastating gun violence incidents.
The 223-204 vote crossed party lines with five Republicans - Reps. Adam Kinzinger, Anthony Gonzalez, Brian Fitzpatrick, Chris Jacobs, and Fred Upton – voting for the package, and Democrats – Reps. Jared Golden and Kurt Schrader – voting against it.
The package would bring a number of drastic changes to the current policy, raising the age limit for purchasing semi-automatic rifles from 18 to 21, implementing a ban on high-capacity magazines, and creating tightened firearm storage requirements.
But to concretize these measures, the Senate would have to vote to approve the package with Democrats in the Upper Chamber needing the support of 10 Republican colleagues to meet the chamber’s vote threshold.
