House Passes Gun Legislation In Party-Line Vote, Bill Now Faces Tougher Senate Test

By a vote of 223-204, the House of Reprsentatives on Wednesday has put together broad gun control legislation on what was largely a party-line vote.

The measure now moves to the Senate, where it faces a sterner test. It’s likely that anything that passes will be whittled down to draw in torn legislators for partisan support.

The vote capped a day where parents and children who have experienced mass shootings spoke before a House committee. The speakers included an 11-year-old from Uvalde, Texas, who survived that recent school shooting by smearing herself with blood and playing dead..

The House legislation includes a bid to raise the minimum age to buy semi-automatic rifles from 18 to 21. The so-called “Protecting Our Kids Act” would also ban large capacity ammunition feeding devices while toughening criminal penalties for gun trafficking and “straw purchases.” There are also provisions for storage of guns in residences.

Democratic Reps. Jared Golden of Maine and Kurt Schrader of Oregon opposed the bill. The five Republicans who vote for it included Chris Jacobs of New York, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Fred Upton of Michigan, Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois.