- Five House Republicans voted for a nationwide "red flag" law.
- Biden previously called for a federal red flag law in the wake of a series of mass shootings.
- The legislation, along with other House-passed measures, is not expected to pass the Senate.
Just five House Republicans broke with their party on Thursday and supported President Joe Biden's push for a nationwide "red flag" law, a further sign that any congressional action after a series of mass shootings will be limited in scope.
Red flag laws can give authorities the power to temporarily confiscate a person's firearm if they pose an immediate threat to themselves or others. Nineteen states and the District of Columbia currently have some form of red flag laws.
The five House Republicans are Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio, Chris Jacobs of New York, Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, and Fred Upton of Michigan. Fitzpatrick is the only one in the group who is running for reelection. Jacobs, who previously shocked his colleagues by announcing his support for a renewed federal assault weapons ban, announced that he would leave the House after New York Republicans blasted him for his changing position on gun rights.
One Democrat, Rep. Jared Golden of Maine, voted against the proposal. Golden previously opposed a package of gun reforms, including raising the legal age for buying semi-automatic firearms to 21.
The House passed Rep. Lucy McBath's bill on a largely party-line 224-202 vote. Her legislation joins a series of gun violence bills that will now move to the Senate. But like action for raising the legal age, the red flag legislation is almost certain to go nowhere.
McBath's legislation, the Federal Extreme Risk Protection Order Act, would empower federal courts to issue red flag notices if a family, household member, or law enforcement officer approached the court with information that a gun owner posed "a risk of imminent personal injury to self or another individual, by purchasing, possessing, or receiving a firearm or ammunition." A Georgia Democrat, McBath has made gun violence a focus of her career after her son, Jordan, was fatally shot in 2012.
Instead of the House-passed bills, senators have rallied around bipartisan talks that are likely to produce a more limited federal response.
Sen. Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat who is involved in the discussions, made clear earlier Thursday that raising the age from 18 to 21 for buying AR-15s and similar guns is not under consideration. Rather, senators are looking at increasing the scope of background checks for younger buyers. Instead of a nationwide red flag law, senators have discussed ways to incentivize states to take action on their own.