These 10 GOP Senators Back Bipartisan Gun Deal: Full List

Senators reached a deal on gun safety on Sunday, passing a bill that includes enhanced background checks for buyers under the age of 21 and measures to close the so-called "boyfriend loophole," which would prevent domestic abusers from owning guns.

The breakthrough was achieved by a bipartisan group of 20 senators, including 10 Democrats and 10 Republicans, who managed to bridge the deep political divide over gun measures between the two parties.

These are the Republican senators who voted to pass the bill on stricter gun control legislation:

  1. Roy Blunt, Missouri
  2. Richard Burr, North Carolina
  3. Rob Portman, Ohio
  4. Patrick Toomey, Pennsylvania
  5. John Cornyn, Texas
  6. Thom Tillis, North Carolina
  7. Bill Cassidy, Louisiana
  8. Susan Collins, Maine
  9. Lindsey Graham, South Carolina
  10. Mitt Romney, Utah

The Republican and Democrat senators who passed the bill issued a joint statement on Sunday announcing the agreement.

"Today, we are announcing a commonsense, bipartisan proposal to protect America's children, keep our schools safe, and reduce the threat of violence across our country," the statement reads.

"Families are scared, and it is our duty to come together and get something done that will help restore their sense of safety and security in their communities. Our plan increases needed mental health resources, improves school safety and support for students, and helps ensure dangerous criminals and those who are adjudicated as mentally ill can't purchase weapons. Most importantly, our plan saves lives while also protecting the constitutional rights of law-abiding Americans. We look forward to earning broad, bipartisan support and passing our commonsense proposal into law."

None of the 10 Republican senators who passed the bill in the Senate is up for reelection this year. Blunt, Burr, Portman and Toomey will leave Congress at the end of the year. Cornyn, Tillis, Cassidy, Collins and Graham won't face voters for another four years. Romney will run for reelection in two years.

This distance from future elections probably allowed Republicans to take a tougher stance on gun control.

"Families deserve to feel safe and secure in their communities. Proud to join my colleagues on this commonsense, bipartisan proposal that will save lives while also protecting the constitutional rights of law-abiding Americans. It deserves broad support," wrote Romney on Twitter.

The bill passed on Sunday is far from final - the details are still being discussed - and it's a far tamer version of the reforms that President Joe Biden, gun control activists and the majority of Democrats were calling for.

A bill approved by the House on June 9 by 223 to 204, the "Protecting Our Kids Act," which includes the prohibition of the sale or transfer of semi-automatic firearms to people aged under 21, a federal statutory framework to regulate ghost guns and new federal criminal offenses for gun trafficking, among others, was met with widespread opposition by the GOP.

Senator Graham of South Carolina, who supported the bill on Sunday, wrote on June 9: "The House-passed gun control bill is an extreme constitutional overreach.

It represents the wish list of the Left when it comes to #GunControl. I will vigorously oppose this measure. It will go nowhere in the Senate."

The framework deal approved on Sunday doesn't include prohibiting the purchase of semi-automatic firearms for those aged 18 to 20. But it includes red-flag laws, which have met the opposition of many Republicans.

Even after passing through the Senate, it's unclear whether the bill will be approved by a majority in Congress.

But the backing of the 10 Republican senators suggests that there's a possibility the bill could be approved in Congress, defeating the GOP filibuster that has blocked previous attempts at passing stricter gun control legislation and collecting the necessary 60 votes to pass.

Senate gun deal
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat of New York, speaks to activists protesting gun violence and demanding action from lawmakers, on June 8, 2022, in Washington, DC. Ten Republican senators and 10 Democratic... Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images

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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

About the writer


Giulia Carbonaro is a Newsweek Reporter based in London, U.K. Her focus is on U.S. and European politics, global affairs ... Read more

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