June 25, 2024 marks the two-year anniversary of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, signed by President Biden on June 25, 2022 — the first major federal gun legislation enacted since the Assault Weapons Ban of 1994. The law passed the Senate 65-33 and the House 234-193, with substantial Republican support. Its implementation status and effects are confirmed by Fox News, NPR, CNN, the Associated Press, and the Department of Justice.
The law included enhanced background check reviews for gun buyers under age 21, expanded federal background check requirements to cover more unlicensed gun dealers, increased funding for state crisis intervention programs (including red flag laws), and allocated $250 million for school mental health services. The Senate's lead Republican negotiators were Senators John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina.
Two years in, DOJ reported that the enhanced juvenile record review provision — which required checks of juvenile criminal and mental health records for buyers under 21 — had blocked approximately 480 sales that would otherwise have gone through. The mental health funding portion disbursed $130 million to states in the first two years. Fifteen states used the federal funding to establish or expand red flag laws.
NPR and gun-control advocates said the law was an important step but fell far short of what was needed, calling for assault weapons ban legislation and universal background checks. Fox News and the Daily Wire offered more mixed coverage: some conservative commentators said the law proved bipartisan gun reform was possible and had yielded targeted results; others said the mental health provisions were underfunded and that federal background check expansion was a step toward a national gun registry.
Left-Leaning Emphasis
- NPR called the law 'meaningful but modest,' emphasizing that mass shootings have continued at a similar rate.
- CNN highlighted that gun-control advocates wanted universal background checks and assault weapons restrictions.
- Left outlets noted the law passed only after the Uvalde, Texas elementary school shooting — framing it as a policy floor, not ceiling.
Right-Leaning Emphasis
- Fox News credited Senators Cornyn and Tillis for a targeted, bipartisan approach that avoided infringing on law-abiding gun owners.
- Daily Wire noted mental health funding — not gun restrictions — was the core Republican contribution to the legislation.
- Some right outlets said the 480 blocked sales proved the existing background check system, when properly resourced, can work.