U.S. House votes to raise age to buy an assault rifle to 21

The U.S. House on Wednesday voted to raise the minimum age to purchase an assault rifle in the U.S. from 18 to 21 as part of a package of provisions restricting access to guns, even though the legislation doesn’t stand much of a chance of passing in the Senate.

The measure top include the provision in the broader bill was agreed to 228 to 199 along mostly party lines, but drew a small group of Republican support.

House Democrats are holding a series of votes on components proposals that are part of the Protecting Our Kids Act, a collection of several pieces of legislation designed to limit access to guns and other firearm equipment in the wake of last month’s mass shootings in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas, that left 31 Americans dead.

The bill is slated for a final passage vote Wednesday night.

In its entirety, the bill would raise the legal age to purchase an assault rifle to 21 from 18, bar the sale of large-capacity magazines and institute new rules dictate proper at-home gun storage.

Another component of the legislation, called the Untraceable Firearms Act, would bolster regulations around so-called ghost guns, or those firearms without a serial number. It is far more difficult for law enforcement to track ownership and possession of firearms that lack serial numbers.

While the Democratic majority in the House is expected to pass stronger gun laws, their success is largely symbolic. Senate Republicans, who have the power to block legislation with a filibuster that requires 60 votes to overcome, are united in their opposition to the House’s restrictions on guns and will block its advance.

The 50-50 split in the Senate, with Vice President Kamala Harris the key tie-breaking vote, means Democrats must persuade 10 Republicans to endorse any legislation. A bipartisan group of senators are negotiating a narrower compromise bill that they say would strengthen background checks, improve mental health services and bolster school security.

Political analysts say that neither the May 24 elementary school massacre in Uvalde, Texas, nor the May 14 racist rampage at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, are likely to result to drum up enough support for the bill passed by the House.

A gunman at Robb Elementary in Uvalde shot 19 children and two teachers to death, while the attacker in a predominantly Black neighborhood in Buffalo killed 10. Both gunmen were 18 years old and carried AR-15 style assault rifles.

Parents of the victims, law enforcement officials and one 11-year-old Uvalde shooting survivor appeared before Congress on Wednesday to urge lawmakers to pass new gun laws.

Kimberly Rubio, mother to slain 10-year-old Lexi…