27 June 2022 02:23 am
WASHINGTON, June 25 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden on Saturday signed into law the first major federal gun reform in three decades, days after a decision he condemned by the Supreme Court expandingfirearm owners’ rights.
“God willing, it’s going to save a lot of lives,” Biden said at the White House after signing the bill with his wife Jill by his side.
The bipartisan bill came together just weeks after mass shootings in Uvalde and Buffalo that killed more than 30 people, including 19 children at an elementary school.
The law includes provisions to help states keep guns out of the hands of those deemed to be a danger to themselves or others.
The reform came the same week as the Supreme Court expanded gun owners’ rights, saying on Thursday for the first time that the U.S. Constitution protected an individual’s ability to carry a handgun in public for self-defense.
“The Supreme Court has made some terrible decisions,” Biden told reporters after that ruling, and another on Friday that eliminated the right to abortion nationwide.
Gun control has long been a divisive issue in the nation with several attempts to put new controls on gun sales failing time after time.