U.S. senators have cleared the way for debate on what could become the first major gun-control bill to pass Congress in nearly two decades. Lawmakers will begin what is likely to be a lengthy battle after 68 senators, including 16 Republicans, voted to begin considering the bill, which would expand background checks to most gun buys and increase penalties for illegal sales. The bill is likely to face more roadblocks from anti-gun-control lawmakers supported by the powerful National Rifle Association. Thursday’s procedural vote came almost exactly four months after a gunman killed 27 people in Newtown, Connecticut, including 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Jillian Soto spoke before the vote. Her sister, teacher Victoria, was gunned down at Sandy Hook on December 14.

Jillian Soto: “We’re here to demand action and demand that we receive a vote and that we are allowed to have some peace of mind that our loved ones didn’t die for no reason. They died protecting the children that they love, and they deserve to have a vote, and they deserve to have died for a reason. And we’re here to protect their legacy, and we’re here to honor them and demand something be done, demand our voices be heard and something gets done and we receive a vote.”