The US House of Representatives has voted for a new age restriction on the sales of semi-automatic weapons.
Amid the recent shooting of 21 people who were killed at an elementary school in Uvalde, lawmakers have been forced to take a look at legislation, after hearing testimonies from the victims' families.
This included 11-year-old girl Miah Cerrillo, who covered herself with a dead classmate’s blood to avoid being shot at in school.
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The new legislation, which prohibits the sale of semi-automatic guns to anyone under the age of 21, was passed by the house in a 228-199 vote.
Previously the minimum age to buy such weapons was 18.
However, the legislation still needs to pass through the Senate, meaning the chance of it becoming law remains very slim.
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The Senate is instead focusing on bolstering school security and enhancing background checks, the News and Star reports.
As reported by Sky News, more than 700 people have been shot dead in the US since the Uvalde school shooting.
Since 24 May, over 650 gun-related incidents have resulted in 730 deaths, according to Gun Violence Archive data.
Sixty-six people from that number were teenagers, while 23 were children.
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Democrat Veronica Escobar of Texas said: “We can’t save every life, but my God, shouldn’t we try?
"America we hear you and today in the House we are taking the action you are demanding.
“Take note of who is with you and who is not.”
“It’s sickening, it’s sickening that our children are forced to live in this constant fear,” added House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democratic Senator from California.
At an event with advocates seeking to reduce gun violence, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said: “Why? Why would someone be against raising the age so that teenagers do not have AK-47s?
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“Yes, they say mental health issues. Yes, we want to address mental health issues.
“Other countries have mental health issues.
“They don’t have a gun violence epidemic.”
House Minority Whip Steve Scalise was not in favour of imposing gun restrictions and compared it to the 9/11 attacks suggesting that aeroplanes were not banned after the incident.
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He said: “Airplanes were used that day as the weapon to kill thousands of people and to inflict terror on our country.
“There wasn’t a conversation about banning airplanes.”
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Topics: US News