Fourteen House Republicans voted with all Democrats to pass a gun safety bill on Friday, sending the measure to President Biden’s desk for signature.
The final vote was 234-193, with three Republicans not voting.
The legislation, which passed the Senate in a bipartisan vote on Thursday, seeks to enhance background checks for gun buyers between the ages of 18 and 21, close the so-called “boyfriend loophole,” crack down on firearm trafficking and allocate money to states to administer red flag laws, among other provisions.
Earlier this month, after Senate negotiators released the framework for their gun agreement, President Biden said he planned to sign the measure into law.
Passage of the bill comes exactly one month after the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, which killed 19 students and two adults. Also last month, a gunman fatally shot 10 Black individuals at a grocery store in Buffalo, N.Y.
The shootings, especially the Uvalde massacre, pushed senators to enter negotiations for gun legislation.
A total of 14 GOP lawmakers in the House supported the bill: Reps. Liz Cheney (Wyo.), Fred Upton (Mich.), Mike Turner (Ohio), Steve Chabot (Ohio), Anthony Gonzalez (Ohio), Chris Jacobs (N.Y.), Brian Fitzpatrick (Pa.), Tony Gonzales (Texas), María Elvira Salazar (Fla.), David Joyce (Ohio), John Katko (N.Y.), Adam Kinzinger (Ill.), Peter Meijer (Mich.) and Tom Rice (S.C.).
Kinzinger, Katko, Upton, Gonzalez and Jacobs are not seeking reelection this year, and Rice just lost his bid for another term.
In a statement following the vote on Friday, Cheney — one of the more surprising Republican lawmakers to support the legislation — said the measure would safeguard children and curb violence without undermining Second Amendment rights.
The National Rifle Association’s (NRA) Political Victory Fund encouraged NRA members in Wyoming to vote for Cheney in her 2020 reelection campaign, noting her A rating from the organization.
“As a mother and a constitutional conservative, I’m proud to support this sensible bill that will protect our children and limit violence without infringing on law-abiding citizens’ Second Amendment rights. Nothing in the bill restricts the rights of responsible gun owners. Period,” Cheney said.
“I will always protect the Second Amendment. This legislation recognizes the importance of that right while making our schools safer, providing more tools for law enforcement, and expanding funding for mental health resources, which is why I voted for it,” she added.
Gonzales, who represents the district that includes Uvalde, announced on Wednesday that he would vote for the gun safety bill, writing on Twitter, “it’s my duty to pass laws that never infringe on the Constitution while protecting the lives of the innocent.”
Upton called the legislation “a well thought out bill” that includes “commonsense reforms.” He also joined Democrats earlier this month in passing a sweeping gun package and a bill to nationalize red flag laws.
“The vote today was bipartisan because there are those of us across the Capitol who realize we have a real problem and doing the same old nothing is not a solution,” Upton said in a statement on Friday.
“This is a well thought out bill that addresses mental health, incentivizes states to pass red flag procedures, closes the boyfriend loophole, all while still maintaining the right for law abiding citizens to keep and bear arms,” he added.
Jacobs signaled his support for the bill on Wednesday, after Senate negotiations released the text for the legislation, writing in a statement that the measure “represents meaningful reforms that I believe will decrease gun violence and save lives.” He called the bill “thoughtful, balanced, and comprehensive.”
The New York Republican revealed in early June that he would not run for reelection, an announcement that came one week after he signaled support for an assault weapons ban. He said he would vote for such a measure if it was brought to the House floor.
Jacobs also voted with Democrats earlier this month to pass the gun package and bill to nationalize red flag laws.
Salazar on Friday said that while she supports the Second Amendment “100%,” she wants safety for her children. She also asserted that some reforms in the bill are already part of Florida law.
“I 100% support the 2nd Amendment. I’m also a mom & want the same safety for my girls that all parents want,” she wrote on Twitter. “Today I voted for more mental health funding, school safety, background checks on 18-21 year olds & tougher penalties for gun traffickers. Much of this is already FL law.”
Joyce in a statement called the bill “commonsense,” and said it “proves that we can stop murderers without infringing on the rights of law-abiding Americans.”
“As a staunch defender of the Second Amendment, I have consistently opposed partisan gun control bills that chip away at the freedoms of law-abiding citizens. I’ve done so while remaining committed to bipartisan solutions that will genuinely help prevent gun violence and preserve the Constitutional rights of the American people. That’s why I voted for the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act,” he wrote.
“When it is signed into law, we will have not only empowered states to make the decisions necessary to meet the unique safety needs of their communities, but also preserved the protected and fundamental freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution for all law-abiding citizens,” he added.
Katko on Wednesday, after the Senate began considering the legislation, wrote on Twitter that the bill “represents a consensus approach to addressing these senseless and depraved acts of violence, and I fully intend to support this measure when it comes to the House floor.”
In a separate tweet, he said “as a strong supporter of the Second Amendment, I believe that this legislation takes important steps to promote public safety, while also safeguarding the constitutional rights of law-abiding Americans.”
In a series of tweets on Friday, Meijer said the legislation “is a significant step in the right direction that will save lives.”
He specifically pointed to the provisions relating to community mental health initiatives, school safety and crisis intervention services.
This story was updated at 4:55 p.m.