Sen. Amy Klobuchar speaks at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on domestic terrorism June 7 on Capitol Hill. (Jacquelyn Martin, Associated Press/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Opinion editor's note: Editorials represent the opinions of the Star Tribune Editorial Board, which operates independently from the newsroom.

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A U.S. Senate group of 10 Democrats and 10 Republicans have accomplished what few thought was possible. They have struck a deal on gun reforms that would at long last mark real progress on one of the most tragic issues we face — growing gun violence in this country and the mass shootings that occur with a frequency seen nowhere else in the civilized world.

Reaching out to the other side in this hyperpolarized atmosphere is, in fact, an act of political courage. So is the determination it will take to sell the merits of a proposal sure to disappoint hard-liners on both sides.

The bill, while falling far short of a measure that recently passed the House, would accomplish several important changes. It would make it easier for states to create or more fully implement red-flag laws that give authorities the ability to remove weapons from those proven to be a danger to themselves or others. Sixteen states already have such a law, but due process and other factors can make implementation costly.

Next, those red-flag protections would be extended to dating partners convicted of domestic abuse, closing the so-called "boyfriend loophole." Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., has fought for that particular provision for a decade and managed to ensure that it was part of this final agreement.

"Every year more than 600 American women are shot to death by intimate partners," Klobuchar told an editorial writer. "Nearly half of those are not spouses, they are dating partners." Klobuchar noted that one sheriff told Congress that "boyfriends shoot and punch just as hard as husbands." Minnesota, she said, is among 19 states that already have such a provision.

The proposed Senate bill is also expected to expand the definition of who is a federally licensed firearms dealer. That would require them to conduct background checks in accordance with federal law. This would not entirely remedy the arms sold online or at gun shows without background checks, but is the beginning of a needed redefinition of who is an arms seller.

Another provision particularly relevant to the recent spate of mass shootings is one that would require more comprehensive background checks of buyers under age 21. The National Instant Criminal Background Check System would contact state and local law enforcement for any disqualifying mental health or juvenile records. Pushback from gun rights groups has already begun on this particular provision, as well as the one that funds state red-flag laws.

There is also significant funding for mental health, particularly for individuals considered to be in crisis, and for enhanced school safety and training.

Klobuchar, a former prosecutor, has been in this particular fight for improvements to gun laws for as long as she's been in the Senate. "I can honestly say we are moving forward with this bill," she said.

Among the resources brought to bear, Klobuchar said one came from a surprising quarter: a three-hour dinner with leading Democratic and Republican senators and celebrity Matthew McConaughey. The veteran actor is from Uvalde, Texas, site of the May mass shooting that left 19 schoolchildren and two teachers dead. McConaughey, Klobuchar said, went deep on policy at the dinner, working to persuade Republicans that the time had come to make serious changes. "He's been a major factor," she said.

There is another resource here that cannot go unacknowledged. There are now so many victims and survivors of mass shootings that they and their loved ones are forming a critical mass, one whose sad but determined ranks grow daily. Many have found new purpose in working for the changes that might stop the next mass shooting or episode of gun violence.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, in a recent floor speech, said that for too many years, mass shootings would be followed by inaction. "Without the advocates, families and volunteers who lost loved ones, this bill wouldn't have happened," he said. "They never gave up."

They will need more persistence. The work is far from over. Klobuchar told an editorial writer that, "I think we're going to get this done by the Fourth of July." That means holding votes together against the combined forces of gun rights advocates who equate any reform with caving in. It also means holding Democratic votes together against the progressives who see only failure in the compromises being made.

Six days after Uvalde, the House passed, on a mostly party-line vote, a gun bill that limited the age for purchasing a semi-automatic rifle and barred the sale of high-capacity ammunition magazines. Regrettably, Minnesota Republican Reps. Michelle Fischbach, Tom Emmer and Pete Stauber all voted against it.

The Senate deal must not meet the same fate. "It's not everything we want," Klobuchar said. "But you agree on what you can, and these are all good provisions."

The deal is the product of hard bipartisan work and compromise. Details must still be worked out, but this deserves to pass.