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President Joe Biden praised senators for coming to a bipartisan framework on gun safety and urged Congress to pass it Sunday, but he also said the eventual bill will not be enough on its own.
Biden released his reaction to the framework Sunday afternoon, hours after Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Ct., released an outline of a gun safety package that Republicans would reportedly be willing to support.
“I want to thank Senator Chris Murphy and the members of his bipartisan group—especially Senators Cornyn, Sinema, and Tillis—for their tireless work to produce this proposal,” Biden wrote.
“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,” Biden continued.
The framework calls for legislation that would eliminate straw-purchasing firearms, support state-level crisis intervention orders; fund mental health resources for children and families; enhance protections for victims of domestic violence, and increase funding for school safety and mental health initiatives.
President Biden clears his throat as he announces new steps requiring government to buy more made-in-America goods during remarks on March 4, 2022. (REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein)
Ten Republican senators signed on to the framework, the number needed to pass the legislation over any potential filibuster.
FILE – Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., left, and Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, right, talk to reporters following a closed-door policy meeting at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, March 8, 2016. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
Biden’s statement comes more than a week after Murphy called for the president to stay out of negotiations, saying Congress “needs to do this ourselves.”
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He went on to suggest that Democrats are willing to compromise if it means Republicans would be willing to pass meaningful gun reform legislation.
“We’re not going to put a piece of legislation on the table that will ban assault weapons or pass comprehensive background checks,” Murphy told CNN. “Right now, people in this country want us to make progress, they just don’t want the status quo to continue for another 30 years.”