BUFFALO, N.Y. — Local and state leaders on Sunday applauded bipartisan efforts in Washington to curb access to guns nationwide.
The announcement comes four weeks and a day after 10 people were killed and three more wounded in the May 14 mass shooting at the Tops Market on Jefferson Avenue.
"It doesn't do everything that many Americans want to see, but it's a step in the right direction after years of inaction in Washington," Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown said in a statement.
The compromise in Washington would make the juvenile records of gun buyers under age 21 available when they undergo background checks. The suspects who killed 10 people at a grocery store in Buffalo and 19 students and two teachers at an elementary school in Uvalde were both 18, and many of the attackers who have committed mass shootings in recent years have been young.
The agreement would offer money to states to implement “red flag” laws that make it easier to temporarily take guns from people considered potentially violent, and to bolster school safety and mental health programs.
And it would take other steps, including requiring more people who sell guns obtain federal dealers' licenses, which means they would have to conduct background checks of purchasers.
"The City of Buffalo is left to forever mourn the loss of 10 innocent members of our community at the hands of a mass murderer motivated by racism and hate," Brown said.
"Unfortunately, this is what it took for lawmakers in Washington to finally take steps toward sensible gun reform. American families impacted by gun violence everywhere deserve action to prevent a tragedy like this from ever happening again."
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul called the agreement "a good start."
"I am proud that New York State is leading this effort — implementing new laws that will prevent those under 21 from acquiring semiautomatic rifles, keep guns away from dangerous people, provide new tools for law enforcement, and protect our communities," the governor said in a statement.
"This bipartisan agreement is a good start, and I urge our partners in Washington to follow our lead by advocating for even bolder and more substantive reforms. Lives depend on it."