US lawmakers were expected to break a decades-long stalemate with the passage of a limited package on firearms safety Friday, in a watershed week for gun control after the Supreme Court bolstered the right to carry weapons in public. The highest judicial body in the United States struck down a century-old New York law Thursday that required a person to prove they had a self-defense need for a permit to carry a concealed handgun outside the home. Hours later, the Senate defied the odds to pass a bipartisan gun bill, with 15 Republicans crossing the aisle to join all 50 Democrats in the first significant piece of legislation to regulate firearms since 1994. The legislation includes enhanced background checks for younger gun buyers and federal cash for states introducing “red flag” laws that allow courts to temporarily remove guns from those considered a threat.