The Senate on Thursday passed the first major federal gun control bill in decades, breaking the longtime Republican blockade against further restrictions on firearms and sending the legislation to almost certain final approval by the Democratic-run House.
The bill, which would expand background checks to include juvenile records and incentivize state adoption of “red flag” laws to confiscate guns from people deemed dangerous by a judge, passed the Senate comfortably just after 10 p.m.
It passed the key test vote earlier by 65-34, with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and 14 other Republicans joining the chamber’s Democrats to advance the legislation.