Mass shootings spark renewed gun law talks in US parliament

The US house of representatives has voted through a series of measures regulating the sale of guns, but which are presumed to fail in the senate.

The new measures would bar sales of semiautomatic weapons to people under 21 and ban large-capacity magazines.

However, republican opposition in the senate means the bill has little chance of entering law, despite a renewed focus on gun control in the wake of a series of mass shootings in the US.

Hours before the vote, survivors of the Uvalde School shooting gave emotional testimony to lawmakers which reduced some to tears.

The primary school shooting in the Texan city claimed the lives of 21 people, including 19 young children.

The attack and other recent mass killings have sparked a new round of bipartisan talks on gun control in the US senate, but democrats need at least 10 republicans on board to pass any new laws.

Conservatives want to protect the constitutional right to bear arms and object to limiting sales of the assault-style rifles used in the Uvalde shooting while a group of republican and democratic senators are trying to find common ground.