Pressure mounts on Senate to act on gun safety amid Republican resistance

Pressure is mounting on the US Senate to act on gun safety in the wake of the Uvalde and Buffalo massacres, as Republican intransigence continues to stand in the way of all but modest reforms.

On Wednesday the House of Representatives passed a package of gun safety measures designed to staunch the disaster of mass shootings. The extent of Republican resistance was underlined by the fact that only five out of 208 House Republicans voted for the legislation.

As compromise talks continue, there are tentative hopes that a deal might be in the offing. But the outcome is likely to be dictated by Republican refusal to contemplate anything other than limited steps.

Among the signatories were business leaders of some of the most familiar corporations, including Levi Strauss & Co, Lyft, Unilever US, Yelp and the Philadelphia Eagles.

Gun safety groups are also piling on the pressure on the Senate. Kris Brown, president of the Brady campaign, pointed out that the Senate has sat on legislation to tighten federal background checks on gun sales for the past 15 months.

Other ideas on the table are a proposal to introduce juvenile records into federal background checks for anyone under 21 trying to buy a firearm. Senate Republicans will not countenance raising the age limit to buy AR-15s to 21, even though both the Uvalde and alleged Buffalo shooters were aged 18.

Mass shootings continue to be an epidemic in the US, occurring far more frequently than high-profile disasters such as Uvalde and Buffalo. The Gun Violence Archive, which tracks mass shootings, defined as events in which four or more people are shot or killed, counts 251 such incidents in the US so far this year.