For the first time in 28 years, the Senate has passed a gun control measure, according to reports on Friday. This comes as gun violence occurrences continue to plague US citizens. According to the BBC, 15 Republicans joined Democrats late Thursday night in the upper house of Congress to pass the proposal by a vote of 65 to 33.

Before President Joe Biden can sign the measure into law, it must first pass the House of Representatives.

What provisions are included in the new legislation?

• Tougher background checks for customers younger than 21 years 
• $15 billion in federal funding for mental health programs and school security upgrades
• Calls for funding to encourage states to implement 'red flag' laws to remove firearms from people considered a threat
• The legislation also aims to close the so-called 'boyfriend loophole' by blocking gun sales to those convicted of abusing unmarried intimate partners.

Assault weapons, which were used in the mass killings in Texas and Buffalo, have been banned, or at least the age at which they may be acquired has been raised, under President Biden's leadership.

Two days after turning 18, the Texas shooting shooter is said to have bought two semi-automatic firearms.

The fact that Democrats and Republicans have endorsed proposed gun regulation equally for the first time in decades underscores the significance of Thursday's move, according to a BBC report. The last important federal gun control law, which forbade the production of assault weapons and large-capacity magazines for civilian usage, was approved in 1994. But it was abandoned after ten years.

Senators Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin, two of the party's most conservative members, joined all 50 Democrats in supporting the legislation.

Deal-making Republicans like Lindsey Graham, a close supporter of former PresidentDonald Trump and a steadfast opponent of gun control legislation, and Mitch McConnell, the party's Senate leader, joined them.

Following the shooting in Uvalde, Texas Senator John Cornyn became a key Republican advocate for a compromise agreement. He addressed the chamber and stated that the proposed legislation would 'make Americans feel safer.' He also stated that 'doing nothing is an abdication of our role as representatives of the American people here in the US Senate.'

The proposal was rejected by two-thirds of Senate Republicans, and all of its supporters—except Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Todd Young of Indiana—will either not run for reelection in the upcoming election.

The Supreme Court invalidated a New York state law that restricts gun carrying in public, according to the National Rifle Association (NRA), the nation's most influential firearms organisation.

More than 20,000 people have died as a result of gun violence in the US since the year's beginning, according to the most recent statistics from Gun Violence Archive. On May 24, an 18-year-old gunman opened fire at the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, killing 19 students and two teachers in the third worst school shooting in U.S. history.

Late on Thursday, Texas Republican Senator John Cornyn addressed the chamber and stated that the proposed legislation would 'make Americans feel safer.' He also stated that 'doing nothing is an abdication of our role as representatives of the American people here in the US Senate.'

Currently, the US is home to an estimated 393 million weapons.

According to the non-profit research organisation Gun Violence Archive, the US has the greatest rate of firearms deaths among the rich countries in the world, with over 20,900 persons having died in gun violence this year alone, including homicide and suicide.

However, it is also a nation where many people value their Second Amendment right to 'keep and carry guns,' which is guaranteed by law.

The last important federal gun control law, which forbade the production of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines for civilian use, was approved in 1994, but it was repealed ten years later.

The Supreme Court dramatically increased gun rights on Thursday when it overturned a New York rule that limited who might carry a pistol in public.

Polls show that the majority of Americans favour gun restriction measures, yet many Republican senators come from states with sizable pro-gun populations.

Even more averse to reform are the Republican voters they must win over to advance in the party's primary elections.