Alabama’s Republican U.S. Senators Tommy Tuberville and Richard Shelby voted against the “Bipartisan Safer Communities Act” on Thursday. Scroll down to see what Tuberville and Shelby said about their decisions. Learn more in the video above.The Senate passed the bipartisan bill Thursday night to address gun violence, marking the first major federal gun safety legislation in decades. The bill will next go to the House for a vote before it can be sent to President Joe Biden to be signed into law.The bipartisan gun deal includes millions of dollars for mental health, school safety, crisis intervention programs and incentives for states to include juvenile records in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.It also makes significant changes to the process when someone ages 18 to 21 goes to buy a firearm and closes the so-called boyfriend loophole, a victory for Democrats, who have long fought for that.—SEN. TOMMY TUBERVILLE“I have always been a proud supporter of our Second Amendment rights. As the Supreme Court rightly recognized this week, any attempts to interfere with law-abiding citizens’ Second Amendment rights should be subject to a high level of scrutiny. I carefully considered this bill, and ultimately, I believe it fell short of ensuring protection of our Constitutional second amendment rights. While I appreciate that the bill includes provisions that focus on mental health, I have serious concerns over how states could implement red flag laws without appropriate due process protections, and I am disappointed with the lack of direct funding to safeguard our schools. I would have welcomed the opportunity to thoughtfully address these concerns, but we were given about an hour to review the bill before we were asked to take the first vote, and there was no amendment process to improve the bill once it was on the floor. For these reasons, I could not support this bill.”SEN. RICHARD SHELBY“I firmly believe that this legislation raises serious constitutional concerns and opens the door to the erosion of the Second Amendment to our Constitution. The Second Amendment states that ‘the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.’ This does not leave room for question. It is evident that our Founding Fathers counted the right to keep and bear arms as a fundamental right of all law-abiding Americans. The Second Amendment is not a suggestion.“As such, I do not believe that restrictive gun laws are the answer to curbing violent crime in America. Let’s enforce the laws already on the books, combat the culture of violence in society, and address the underlying issues that may contribute to such heinous acts. We must also ensure that individuals who commit crimes with firearms are held accountable for their actions and receive swift and certain punishment commensurate with their crimes.“Congress should focus on solutions that truly tackle violent crime, address mental health, and ensure school safety without infringing on the constitutional freedoms of law-abiding gun owners. This bill does not do that. For that reason, I intend to vote against the ‘Bipartisan Safer Communities Act’ and will continue to oppose efforts that infringe upon the right of law-abiding citizens to keep and bear arms.”Get the WVTM 13 app for the latest updates on the gun control legislation.
Alabama’s Republican U.S. Senators Tommy Tuberville and Richard Shelby voted against the “Bipartisan Safer Communities Act” on Thursday. Scroll down to see what Tuberville and Shelby said about their decisions. Learn more in the video above.
The Senate passed the bipartisan bill Thursday night to address gun violence, marking the first major federal gun safety legislation in decades. The bill will next go to the House for a vote before it can be sent to President Joe Biden to be signed into law.
The bipartisan gun deal includes millions of dollars for mental health, school safety, crisis intervention programs and incentives for states to include juvenile records in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.
It also makes significant changes to the process when someone ages 18 to 21 goes to buy a firearm and closes the so-called boyfriend loophole, a victory for Democrats, who have long fought for that.
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SEN. TOMMY TUBERVILLE
“I have always been a proud supporter of our Second Amendment rights. As the Supreme Court rightly recognized this week, any attempts to interfere with law-abiding citizens’ Second Amendment rights should be subject to a high level of scrutiny. I carefully considered this bill, and ultimately, I believe it fell short of ensuring protection of our Constitutional second amendment rights. While I appreciate that the bill includes provisions that focus on mental health, I have serious concerns over how states could implement red flag laws without appropriate due process protections, and I am disappointed with the lack of direct funding to safeguard our schools. I would have welcomed the opportunity to thoughtfully address these concerns, but we were given about an hour to review the bill before we were asked to take the first vote, and there was no amendment process to improve the bill once it was on the floor. For these reasons, I could not support this bill.”
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SEN. RICHARD SHELBY
“I firmly believe that this legislation raises serious constitutional concerns and opens the door to the erosion of the Second Amendment to our Constitution. The Second Amendment states that ‘the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.’ This does not leave room for question. It is evident that our Founding Fathers counted the right to keep and bear arms as a fundamental right of all law-abiding Americans. The Second Amendment is not a suggestion.
“As such, I do not believe that restrictive gun laws are the answer to curbing violent crime in America. Let’s enforce the laws already on the books, combat the culture of violence in society, and address the underlying issues that may contribute to such heinous acts. We must also ensure that individuals who commit crimes with firearms are held accountable for their actions and receive swift and certain punishment commensurate with their crimes.
“Congress should focus on solutions that truly tackle violent crime, address mental health, and ensure school safety without infringing on the constitutional freedoms of law-abiding gun owners. This bill does not do that. For that reason, I intend to vote against the ‘Bipartisan Safer Communities Act’ and will continue to oppose efforts that infringe upon the right of law-abiding citizens to keep and bear arms.”
This content is imported from Twitter.
You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.
Get the WVTM 13 app for the latest updates on the gun control legislation.
