NRA Supported Bill Does Not Enact Any Common Sense Gun Control Measures
By an overwhelming margin the U.S. House of Representatives Wednesday afternoon passed the STOP School Violence Act. The legislation provides funding for early detection by students, school officials, and law enforcement and also provides funding to strengthen existing school security measures and infrastructure.
The vote was 407-10, with fire Democrats and five Republicans voting no.
“The STOP School Violence Act is a good bill,” U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch (D-FL) said on passage of the legislation. he is an original co-sponsor. “It will not solve our gun problem. It won’t ban bump stocks or require Americans to be 21 to buy a gun or fix our broken background check system or get weapons of war — the weapons of choice for mass shooters — off our streets, and out of our communities,†Deutch adding, according to the Sun-Sentinel. “But it will help troubled students who need help get help.â€
The Florida newspaper is less enthusiastic than the Florida Congressman.
“It’s unclear just what results the legislation will produce,” the Sun-Sentinel observes. “The legislation authorizes money, but no actual cash can get spent unless funding is included in a future appropriations measure. And the total amount of grants envisioned, $75 million, averages just $765 for each of the nation’s 98,000 public schools.”
Additionally, the bill would have to pass in the Senate and President Trump would have to sign it before it becomes law.
The NRAÂ supports the bill.
Similar legislation in the Senate is co-spnsored by Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT).
It authorizes “$75 million for FY 2018, and $100 million annually for the next ten years, which may be partially offset from a DOJ research program called the Comprehensive School Safety Initiative,” a statement from Sen. Brown reads.
Image by Misha Popovikj via Flickr and a CC license