A new wave of gun legislation has been introduced by Democrats following a recent series of mass shootings last month. In the time between Tuesday, Mar. 16 and Monday, Mar. 22, seven mass shootings occurred, with three happening on Saturday alone. The first of the shootings took place in Atlanta, Ga.,when a white gunman stormed three spas and killed eight people, including six Asian women. Another happened in Gresham leaving four dead, and another in Boulder, Colo. at a supermarket that resulted in 10 dead, including a police officer. The others throughout the week took place in Stockton, Calif. and Philadelphia, Pa. as well as both Houston and Dallas, Tex.

It is no secret that shootings are a common occurrence in the U.S. As of Aug. 19, 2019, there had been 1,316 school shootings since 1970, with 18 percent of those happening after the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012. In fact, 2018 holds the record for most school shootings with 97 incidents. Even without as many mass shootings, 2020 was still America’s deadliest gun violence year in decades, according to the Gun Violence Archive, with nearly 20,000 deaths.

In response to the recent shootings, President Joseph R. Biden, who has been an advocate for stricter gun rules and regulations since his time as a senator, intends to ban assault weapons and erase any loopholes for buying a firearm. Democrats reintroduced legislation that first appeared in January of 2019 after the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., which passed in the House but hadn’t made it past the Senate. As of now, the two bills, named the Bipartisan Background Checks Act and Enhanced Background Checks Act, have been passed by the House due to the Democratic Party’s control, but are expected to be stalled again by Senate Republicans. These bills would strengthen background checks for gun buyers, limit some common loopholes and allow the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) more time to conduct checks. With the transition of the presidency from a Republican to a Democrat, Biden hopes to apply his executive power in the management of gun laws in America.

As for the public view on these measures, a growing number of Americans in both parties have shown support for tighter gun laws, with a Pew Research Center poll in 2019 showing that 60 percent of those polled support stricter gun laws. Regardless, the bills are not expected to pass in the Senate due to the lack of support by Republicans. House Republicans, although the bills were passed, nearly uniformly opposed the measures, arguing that the measures would only make it more difficult for law-abiding citizens to purchase a firearm rather than keep criminals from gaining access to weapons. Republicans in Congress also remain firm in their stance that the threat of gun violence should be met with steps such as more policing rather than limiting gun rights.

“These bills are a transparent attempt by gun control advocates in Congress to restrict the rights of law-abiding Americans under the guise of addressing the violent criminal culture in America,” Head of the National Rifle Association’s Institute for Legislative Action Jason Ouimet said in a statement outlining the concerns over the legislation.

“This is not and should not be a partisan issue — it is an American issue,” President Biden said regarding the divide. “We have to act.”