U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) said on Sunday (June 12) that he and a bipartisan group of senators tasked with gun law discussions have agreed on the framework on a probable legislative package, according to a press release issued by his office.
Cornyn said in the release that the agreement looks to protect the nation's children, secure schools and decrease the threat of violence.
"Families are scared, and it is our duty to come together and get something done that will help restore their sense of safety and security in their communities," the senior senator said in the release. "Our plan increases needed mental health resources, improves school safety and support for students and helps ensure dangerous criminals and those who are adjudicated as mentally ill can’t purchase weapons."
The release said that Cornyn was one of two senators who helmed a group that included Sens. Chris Murphy (D-CT), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Roy Blunt (R-MO), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Richard Burr (R-NC), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Susan Collins (R-ME), Chris Coons (D-DE), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Angus King (I-ME), Joe Manchin (D-WV), Rob Portman (R-OH), Mitt Romney (R-UT), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Pat Toomey (R-PA).
The compromise was reached nearly three weeks after 19 students and two teachers lost their lives in a shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, a South Texas city of 16,000 people some 84 miles west of San Antonio.
It was also in response to a fatal mass shooting at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York, that also occurred last month.
According to an Associated Press (AP) report that was ran by Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) NBC affiliate KXAS, the agreement doesn't match the tougher restrictions President Joe Biden and many Democratic leaders pushed for, but the president was pleased with the development.
"It reflects important steps in the right direction, and would be the most significant gun safety legislation to pass Congress in decades," Biden said, the AP reported. "There are no excuses for delay, and no reason why it should not quickly move through the Senate and the House."
A few days before the senators reached the compromise, an 11-year-old girl who survived the Robb Elementary School shooting by smearing a classmate's blood on herself in order to appear dead to the gunman told the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform on Wednesday (June 8) that she doesn't feel safe in school anymore, Austin NBC affiliate KXAN reported, per Austin Journal.
Miah Cerrillo recounted her experience of that horrific day to lawmakers in a prerecorded video, saying she witnessed her teacher and classmates die, according to the station.
“He shot my teacher and told my teacher 'good night' and shot her in the head," the girl told legislators, KXAN reported. “And then he shot some of my classmates and the white board.”