The US Senate has passed a rare bipartisan package of gun safety legislation, sending it to the House of Representatives for further approval.
The bill, billed as the first major gun control legislation passed in three decades, received 65 votes to 33 votes.
Fifteen Republican senators joined all 50 Democrats in voting for the bill.
Measures including stricter background checks on younger gun owners, measures to keep guns away from domestic violence offenders and red flag laws will make it easier for authorities to take weapons from people judged to be dangerous.
The $13 billion package will also fund programs in school safety, mental health and violence prevention.
But compromises on broader measures, such as the ban on assault-style rifles or high-capacity magazines, could not be reached, and so these measures were removed from the law.
It follows several recent mass shootings, including one at a school in Uvalde, Texas, that killed 19 children and two teachers; and one at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, leaving 10 dead.
They are among more than 20,800 people who have died from gun violence in the US this year, including homicide and suicide, according to the nonprofit research group Gun Violence Archive.
Ahead of the vote, Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said: “This is not a cure for the ways gun violence affects our nation, but it is a step overdue. long-term and in the right direction”.
The bill is expected to pass in the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives, before being signed into law by US President Joe Biden.
Mr Biden said on Thursday night: “Tonight, after 28 years of inaction, bipartisan members of Congress came together to heed the calls of families across the country and pass legislation to address the issue. address the scourge of gun violence in our community.
“Families in Uvalde and Buffalo – and so many catastrophic shootings before – have demanded action.
“And tonight, we took action.
“This bipartisan bill will help protect Americans. Children in schools and communities will be safer because of it.
“The House should quickly vote on this bipartisan bill and send it to my desk.”
Also on Thursday, the US Supreme Court ruled that Americans have a constitutional right to carry handguns in public for self-defense, highlighting deep divisions on the issue.
The court’s conservative majority lowered New York state’s limit on carrying handguns stashed outside the home, ruling that it violated a person’s right to “keep and bear a weapon,” under the First Amendment. two of the United States Constitution.
