A parent in Union Township was arrested this week for threatening to shoot up an elementary school. The school was placed on lockdown, stoking fears of a copycat of the Uvalde, Texas massacre. On Wednesday in Washington, the House passed some of the toughest gun control measures Congress has taken up in years. The “Protecting Our Kids Act” includes raising the legal age to buy most semiautomatic rifles from 18 to 21, banning high-capacity ammunition magazines, creating new federal offenses for gun trafficking, and incentivizing the sale of safe gun storage devices.

Five Republicans joined most Democrats to vote in favor of all the bills. New Jersey Republican Rep. Chris Smith bucked his party and voted yes on a number of them, including a bill to raise the minimum age from 18 to 21 to purchase semi-automatic weapons. The House on Thursday also passed a federal “red flag” law. Federal lawmakers are facing mounting pressure to address recent mass shootings across the country. But the bill package is expected to fail in the Senate, with the GOP taking a firm stance against any new restrictions on guns. Instead, a bipartisan Senate group is exploring a narrower bill with the hope of picking up enough votes for its passage.