Something beats nothing, which is essentially what this nation has gotten for the last several decades in the way of gun reform legislation.
Finally, a bipartisan group of U.S. senators is working on a legislative response to the latest round of mass murders, one an attack on elementary school children and teachers in Uvalde, Texas, and another on mostly elderly grocery shoppers in Buffalo, N.Y. There have also been recent attacks on a church in California and a medical facility in Oklahoma.
Again and again, calls rang out for lawmakers to "do something" to stop the violence.
Make no mistake, the "something" that is in the works is, as of yet, not actual legislation. It's a "framework" for continued negotiation.
Word is at least 10 Republicans may be willing to join the Democrats in the upper chamber to pass the eventual legislation, preferably before the nation's lawmakers recess July 4.
They're calling this the most sweeping gun safety legislation in 30 years. That is a low bar. There has been little such legislation in that time span on the federal level.
The legislation on the table now would:
• Expand background checks for 18- to 21-year-old gun buyers.
• Close the "boyfriend" loophole in domestic violence cases.
• Provide grants for states to implement "red flag" laws.
• Fund school and community mental health resources.
• Fund school safety resources.
• Criminalize third-party "straw" purchases (guns purchased for another person who is not legally authorized to buy a gun).
Notably, the 10 Republicans who say they're open to these changes are mostly not up for re-election this year, or aren't planning to seek re-election when their terms expire.
Of course, 10 remains the magic number of Republicans necessary if all Democrats support the legislation to make the 60-vote threshold to overcome a filibuster.
The Democratic negotiators are insisting that whatever comes of this effort be serious enough to save some lives. They don't want the legislation watered down, but they would like to see even more senators sign on.
The fence-sitters are waiting to see the actual legislation.
Arkansas' Sen. John Boozman, for example, said Monday he's open to considering the bipartisan agreement. But he wants to see the specific bills.
Arkansas' other Republican senator, Tom Cotton, hasn't said what he thinks of the bipartisan framework.
Nevertheless, there's no doubt that the chorus of voices for change in America's gun laws is growing louder.
Just last weekend, in the wake of these latest mass shootings, organizers quickly assembled thousands of marchers on the mall in Washington, D.C., and in hundreds of cities large and small across the U.S. for another March for Our Lives.
The first one was put together by teenage survivors of a high school massacre in Parkland, Fla., in 2018. They're still marching for their lives and fighting for gun violence prevention measures at all levels of government.
The gun violence certainly hasn't abated. This year alone, there have been more mass shootings than there have been days in the year, according to people who track such things.
David Hogg, one of the founders of March for Our Lives, said repeatedly before this year's march that he believes there is a different environment for change in the nation's laws.
The U.S. House of Representatives actually proved it recently when it passed an expansive gun control bill. The House bill would raise the age to purchase semi-automatic rifles to 21, but that provision, like some others, has little chance of passage in the Senate.
Unfortunately, the House and Senate aren't singing from the same hymnal, much less the same page.
But they are singing. Perhaps they'll get it together and will indeed eventually "do something."