Cronkite school of journalism at
Arizona state university.
Judy: After weeks of mounting
pressure to see action on guns,
lawmakers on capitol hill have
come to an agreement on a
framework for gun legislation.
Our political correspondent Lisa
Desjardins is here with the
details.
There does seem to be the
outline of a deal.
Tell us what is in this.
Lisa: There is a framework, 20
senators, notably 10
Republicans, have signed on.
Let's talk about what is in this
in more depth.
Let's talk about the gun
portions of this bill.
In this bill, there would be --
there is a statement to
encourage state red flag laws,
currently 19 states have those
laws.
Senators would like to see them
in most states.
They would close what is called
the boyfriend loophole.
That is a situation where if
someone is convicted of domestic
violence but is not married to
the person, they could continue
to own a firearm, this would
change that for any domestic
abuse allegation.
Also, there would be deeper
background checks for those who
are 18 to 21 years old and
buying assault style weapons,
notably many of our viewers will
recognize, there is not a change
in the age limit to buy those
kinds of weapons.
But instead, what these senators
would like to do is make
available, in fact, require,
criminal juvenile records be
included in that background
search, which is not happening
now.
That is one portion.
The other portion of the bill
deals with mental health, and
larger societal problems that
might lead to the people that
commit these kind of violences.
Let's talk about those portions.
In the framework, a major
investment in mental health and
suicide prevention across the
country.
This bill aims to expand 24/7
community mental health serve --
centers across the country,
increase access to mental health
care, and specifically, mental
health care and trauma
counseling in schools and it
would also add a large boost of
school safety funding.
We don't have details on this,
that is why it is a framework,
not a bill yet, but why so much
emphasis on things like mental
health?
Not only because it is a
bipartisan issue that most
Americans agree on, but because
the players here, Kyrsten
Sinema, one of the core four who
is helping assure this through,
her first job, a social worker
in schools.
She still teaches social work.
She is someone who is pushing
for these mental health ideas.
Ulcer two important figures, Roy
blunt, a Republican who has
signed on, and Debbie stabenow.
It is then mental health
framework that they have been
preparing for years and it is
being adopted in this proposal.
Judy: Rather than a huge
ambitious approach, this has
been described as a more
pragmatic one.
Help us understand why that is.
Lisa: Something that is helping
these senators reach consensus
is the fact that they are
looking at the profile of a
certain kind of American who has
been committing the most
reprehensible violence, young
men.
When you look at the data, we
looked at some of it today, you
see why senators have their
attention on that profile.
18 to 21-year-old perpetrators
of gun violence, according to
the violence project, that
accounts for two thirds of the
largest mass shootings since
2018.
If you look broadly, this
according to the giffords law to
prevent gun violence, they are
responsible for 17% of all
homicides.
It is helping that senators can
aim this conversation in a
focused way at one particular
kind of perpetrator that we know
is responsible for gun violence.
Judy: We know a lot of people
are waiting to see what they do.
What about the timing?
?
What happens next and when?
Lisa: This is the question we
all have.
Everyone knows the midterms are
coming.
The clock is not helpful to the
U.S. Senate.
However, this is delicate, this
is a difficult situation.
They don't have legislative
I'm going to show you what they
do have, this background
proposal we are talking about.
If you look at what it actually
looks like, it is not a large
document.
There are just 300 words and it.
We can scroll through it.
Just 300 words.
What these senators have to do
is write this into text.
Think of it this way.
If a group of people is trying
to build a house together, they
have agreed on a photograph of a
house.
They have not decided things
like how many bedrooms, how big
should the bedrooms be, what
kind of appliances in the
kitchen, who should use them?
Those are difficult questions
that can add to problems in a
deal.
Most of the senate wants a deal,
but they have to figure out
those tough details.
I think where we are at as they
will try to write this
legislative text in the next two
weeks.
If they do it, it would be
remarkable.
Here is what chuck Schumer says
about where they are at.
>> For the first time in a long
time, the senate has a path
forward on legislation that will
save lives, reduce gun violence,
and keep our communities safe.
Make no mistake about it, we
have a lot of work left to do
before we actually pass a bill
but yesterday's announcement was
a positive and necessary step in
the right direction.
Lisa: I can imagine viewers
saying, we have heard this
before, we have heard positive
steps before.
One thing we did not hear, the
fact that senator Mcconnell is
not saying anything is a reason
for hope.
He is not putting a hand on the
scale yet.
He is not against this.
Republicans have been quick in
the past to say no to anything
related to gun legislation.
He is leaving an opening the
main question is the momentum
the senate has, those calls they
are getting from constituents,
will that keep up long enough
for them to finish the deal?
And that, we don't know.
Judy: When you say as long as --
as it takes to build a house, it
could go on for a long time.
But we will see.
Lisa: That is why we are
gainfully employed.
Judy: For sure.
And you certainly are.
Thank you very much.
Lisa: You are welcome.
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