Congressman Fitzpatrick & Senators Casey & Toomey Vote For Gun Safety Law

A gun in the custody of Pennsylvania authorities.
Credit: PA Internet News Service

The Levittown-area’s three federal representatives voted in favor of the bipartisan Safer Communities Act that was signed into law by President Joe Biden on Saturday.

The bill gained steam after multiple mass shootings carried out with guns, including at a school in Texas, a grocery store in Buffalo, and on South Street in Philadelphia.

U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, a Democrat, and U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, a Republican, voted Thursday for the bill, which passed with a 65-33 vote.

Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick, a Republican from Middletown Township, voted with the majority of the U.S. House on Friday to approve the final version of the bill that moved forward with a 234-193 vote.

Before heading to a trip to Europe, Biden signed the bill into law in the Roosevelt Room at the White House Saturday morning.

The Safer Communities Act strengthens background checks for anyone purchasing guns under the age of 21, allots billions for mental health care, and eliminates the so-called “boyfriend loophole” to bar convicted domestic abusers from purchasing a gun for five years. The plan also specifies the definition of a federally registered guns dealer, establishes penalties for straw purchases and gun trafficking, and offers $750 million in grants to encourage states to launch crisis intervention programs, which are often called “red-flag laws.”

“While this bill doesn’t do everything I want, it does include actions I’ve long called for that are going to save lives,” Biden said in remarks at the White House.

“I am a strong supporter of the Second Amendment and all of the protections that it entails. I also believe that we have no higher responsibility as leaders, no higher responsibility as human beings, than to protect our children and to keep our community safe. These are not and must not be mutually exclusive concepts,” Fitzpatrick said in a statement about gun safety legislation posted to his website earlier this month.

The Gun Owners of America in Pennsylvania, which describes itself as a “no-compromise gun lobby” group, called Republicans who supported the Safer Communities Act “traitors.”

The National Rifle Association (NRA) Institute for Legislative Action, the lobbying arm of the group, said in a statement they support legislation that improves school security, supports mental health services, and works to reduce gun violent, but opposes “gun control legislation.” Their statement said the bill “leaves too much discretion in the hands of government officials and also contains undefined and overbroad provisions.”

A recent Gallup poll found that 66 percent of Americans polled said they wanted stricter gun laws, with support growing in the wake of the recent mass shootings.