A bill that requires universal background checks on gun sales passed the House on Wednesday, 240-190, as The Hill reported.
It is the first major piece of legislation on gun control in decades and faces stiff opposition in the GOP-controlled Senate.
Still, Democrats and gun control advocates cheered the move.
"A long overdue move by my colleagues in the House," Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., tweeted. "It's just common sense to support strengthening universal background checks, and I look forward to voting in favor of this bill in the Senate. We can't wait any longer to act."
"MAJOR VICTORY," said Everytown for Gun Safety, a nonprofit organization which advocates for gun control and against gun violence.
"This is a victory years in the making and shows the power of the movement to #EndGunViolence."
The bill, HR8, would require background checks on all commercial gun sales, including those over the Internet and at gun shows. It would also close a loophole that allows private and unlicensed sales to go forward without a background check.
President Donald Trump's administration opposes the bill because it would apply "burdensome requirements" that are "incompatible with the Second Amendment's guarantee of an individual right to keep arms."
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