Historic Gun Violence Bill Passed By U. S. Senate

The final vote was 65-33. The Senate easily approved a bipartisan gun violence bill that seemed unimaginable just a month ago, clearing the way for final congressional approval of what will be lawmakers' most comprehensive response in decades to the nation's string of brutal mass shootings.

After last month's mass shootings in New York and Texas, Democrats and some Republicans decided that congressional inaction was untenable.

In weeks of closed-door meetings, senators from both parties came to a compromise embodying incremental, yet impactful, movement to curb bloodshed that has come to shock but no longer shock the nation.

The $13 billion measure will strengthen background checks for the youngest gun buyers, keep firearms away from more domestic abusers, and allow states to establish red flag laws that will allow authorities to seize weapons from dangerous people more easily. It would also fund local programs for school safety, mental health, and violence prevention.