Biden signs US' 1st significant gun control law in decades

NEW YORK

US President Joe Biden on Saturday signed into law the country's most significant gun control legislation in decades.

The law, which restricts firearm purchases and allows for inspections against illegal weapons in a bid to curb gun violence, came into force after Biden's approval.

"Lives will be saved" Biden said of the law that he signed a day after it cleared congress as a bipartisan bill.

Senators approved the bill on Thursday evening with a vote of 65-33, followed by the House on Friday.

It came a month after a school shooting in Uvalde, Texas left 19 students and two teachers dead.

The bill passed the House floor 234-193 as 14 Republicans voted along with all Democrats in favor.

While the bill does not tackle many of the proposals pushed by House Democrats and Biden -- like raising the age to purchase a gun, banning assault weapons, and expanding universal background checks -- it does establish a significant gun policy achievement between Republicans and Democrats that has not been seen in almost 30 years.

The bill still calls for expanded background checks, which includes juvenile and mental health records to be part of federal background checks for gun buyers aged 18 to 20.

It also closes the so-called "boyfriend loophole" in which convicted domestic violence offenders will now be denied guns if they have committed violent crimes against their spouses.

The measure would also strengthen "red flag" laws helping authorities get court orders to temporarily remove guns from people deemed dangerous.

With this law, the US Congress made first regulation on gun control for the first time in the last 30 years.

*Writing by Zehra Nur Duz