Washington - The U.S. Senate took the first step towards passing the country's first major gun-control legislation in a generation on Tuesday, in a bid to control mass shootings in a nation that has long struggled to curb chronic gun violence.

Senators voted to speed up the passage of the bipartisan bill and is expected to vote on the 80-page bill this week before a two-week recess.

The bill unveiled on Tuesday fall short of what many Democrats, including President Joe Biden, and activists had sought. Still, if passed, it would be the most significant action to combat gun violence to emerge from Congress in decades.

The legislation includes provisions that would help states keep guns out of the hands of those deemed to be a danger to themselves or others and close the so-called "boyfriend loophole" by blocking gun sales to those convicted of abusing unmarried intimate partners.

It is the first time in years that a proposed gun safety legislation received this level of support from both Republican and Democratic party senators.

The bill stops short of raising the age limit from 18 to 21 on purchases of automatic assault weapons. The shooters in both Texas and New York were 18-year-olds who used assault rifles they bought themselves.

The biggest gun lobby in the country, the National Rifle Association, said on Twitter that it opposed the legislation because it could restrict lawful gun purchases. The politically powerful group's statement could affect how many Republicans vote on the measure.

Lawmakers reached agreement on a provision to encourage states to adopt "red flag" laws, in which guns can be temporarily taken away from people who are deemed dangerous. It also provides funding for states that use other forms of intervention to accomplish the same outcome.