The US Senate cleared the way yesterday for an emotional, weeks-long debate on propo-sals to curb gun violence, rejecting an effort by conservative Republicans to block consideration of gun-control legislation prompted by December’s Newtown school massacre.

The Senate voted 68-31 to open debate on President Barack Obama’s proposals to expand background checks for gun buyers, tighten restrictions on gun trafficking and increase funding for school security.

The Senate easily cleared the 60-vote hurdle needed to break a Republican filibuster on a Bill that has sparked intense lobbying on both sides, including families of the Connecticut victims as well as the powerful gun lobby the National Rifle Association.

“The hard work starts now,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat, said after the procedural vote to open debate, which won the support of 16 Republicans.

Twenty-nine Republicans and two Democrats voted to block the gun-control debate.

The Democrats were Mark Pryor of Arkansas and Mark Begich of Alaska, who face tough re-election campaigns next year in conservative, gun-friendly states.

The legislation still faces many hurdles, including a weeks-long debate in the Senate featuring many amendments that could make the Bill unacceptable to senators who now support it. And if it clears the Senate, it would face a tough reception in the Republican-led House of Representatives.

No major gun legislation has managed to pass the US Congress since 1994. The vote to proceed with the Bill came after a compromise agreement on background checks between prominent defenders of gun rights from each party - Democrat Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Republican Patrick Toomey of Pennsylvania.