A group of senators have announced a limited bipartisan framework for gun reform in response to last month’s mass shootings in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas, marking a modest breakthrough for measured checks on ownership of deadly weapons – though the proposals do not ban assault weapons or raise the age required to buy them to 21.

Despite the obvious limitations of the plans that would among other things make juvenile records of gun buyers under age 21 available when they undergo background checks, and make it easier to temporarily take guns from people considered potentially violent, any legislation passed would improve upon the stalemates in Congress that have ensued after years of gun massacres.

The president, Joe Biden, welcomed the deal and urged swift action, despite acknowledging its weaknesses. “It does not do everything that I think is needed, but it reflects important steps in the right direction, and would be the most significant gun safety legislation to pass Congress in decades,” he said.