Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., (pictured) and Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., drafted and spearheaded the legislation (Gage Skidmore/Creative Commons).

Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., and Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., drafted and spearheaded the bill, CBS News reported. Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., and Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., agreed on the legislation. The push for new measures to reduce gun violence began after the elementary school shooting in Newtown, Conn., in December.

From The New York Times: 

Under the terms of the agreement, background checks for gun buyers would expand to gun shows and online sales — a huge portion of gun sales that are made without the background checks used by gun stores — and it would maintain record-keeping provisions that law enforcement officials find essential in tracking criminal gun use, but that gun rights groups find anathema.

“I think this is a fluid situation and it’s hard to predict,” Toomey said. The legislation represents common ground, he said, and he’s hopeful it will pass. 

From The New York Times: 

The agreement contains changes that will draw the attention of gun rights supporters and gun control advocates. The original measure would have allowed someone to have weapons that would be prohibited in a state by claiming to be just passing through; under the agreement, the burden would shift to the traveler to show that he or she was actually traveling, and the burden would not be on the government to prove it.

But the new agreement has other provisions that are in the current proposal headed for the floor. Gun sellers would be given immunity from lawsuits if a firearm they sold were used in a crime. It would also permit dealers to travel to another state and transfer guns at a gun show there as long as they abided by the laws of that state. And it would permit active-duty military members to buy guns in their home states and in states where they are based.

"I don't consider criminal background checks to be gun control - it's just common sense," Toomey said.

Shortly after Toomey and Manchin announced their agreement, the National Rifle Association - that gives high marks to the senators - released a statement opposing it. 

"Expanding background checks at gun shows will not prevent the next shooting, will not solve violent crime and will not keep our kids safe in schools," the statement said. "The sad truth is that no background check would have prevented the tragedies in Newtown, Aurora or Tucson. We need a serious and meaningful solution that addresses crime in cities like Chicago, addresses mental health deficiencies, while at the same time protecting the rights of those of us who are not a danger to anyone.”

"Back home where I come from, we have common sense, we have nonsense and we have gun sense,” Manchin said. 

Read more of Neon Tommy’s coverage on gun control here.

Reach Executive Producer Agnus Dei Farrant here.