A cross-party group of US senators has unveiled a bipartisan gun control agreement that would expand background checks for gun buyers.
The long-awaited deal has been designed to win enough Republican support to pass in the Senate, with the first vote expected on Thursday. But it was immediately criticised by both the pro-gun lobby group, the National Rifle Association, and gun control advocates. The measure falls short of the universal background checks that President Barack Obama called for in the wake of the Newtown massacre in December last year.
The bill would require all those buying firearms commercially to pass a background check. But people who buy guns privately from family or friends would be exempt.