Add Pennsylvania to the growing list of states that have passed some form of gun control since a wave of mass shootings began to scar the nation over the last six years.

The state Senate voted 43-5 Wednesday to pass a bill requiring defendants to surrender all guns in their possession upon the imposition of a contested protection from abuse order.

The only 'no' votes were cast by Republicans Camera Bartolotta of Washington County, John Eichelberger of Blair County, Scott Hutchinson of Venango County, Elder Vogel of Beaver County and Kim Ward of Westmoreland County.

Twenty-eight Republicans and 15 Democrats supported the measure. Sen. Vince Hughes, D-Philadelphia was absent from session Wednesday and Republican gubernatorial candidate Scott Wagner's seat is currently vacant.

The state House passed the bill last week, so its next stop is with Gov. Tom Wolf. Wolf has pledged to sign the bill.

While a small step to be sure - so small that even the National Rifle Association took a "neutral" position - it was the first gun control measure of any kind to have passed in the Pennsylvania General Assembly this decade.

That wasn't lost on gun control supporters.

"What a relief to finally get beyond the hand-wringing and actually make significant change in Pennsylvania law that will protect women, children and men," said Sen. Judy Schwank, D-Berks County.

Others called Wednesday's victory the single-most significant gun control step taken by the Pennsylvania General Assembly since passage of legislation implementing the state's background check system in 1995.

House Bill 2060 accomplishes a goal domestic violence advocates have been pursuing for more than a decade.

Supporters cite it as significant because, for the first time in Pennsylvania:

People convicted of misdemeanor crimes of domestic violence or subject to final restraining orders must surrender their guns within 24 hours. The court can do so in other cases if it finds it warranted.

It eliminates the ability of that abuser to turn their guns over to family or friends.

Any such safekeeping under the new bill would have to be either with local law enforcement, licensed gun dealers or commercial armories, or the defendant's attorney.

Senate approval came after one last-ditch effort by some of the Senate's most-ardent gun rights advocates to broaden the safekeeping provision, but that amendment was defeated 39-9.

In another provision, the time frame for the surrender of weapons was shortened to 24 hours.

The bill was weakened in the House this summer to eliminate the mandatory surrender provision for defendants in protection from abuse cases who reached a consent agreement with their accusers to stop complained-of behaviors and, possibly, refrain from future contact.

In those cases, judges would still have the discretion to order a surrender, but it would not be mandatory.

It's potentially a significant step back in a state in which, according to court records, some 34,245 PFA orders were granted in 2016. It was not clear how many of those resulted from consent agreements.

But for gun control proponents and advocates for getting tougher on domestic violence, that didn't diminish the joy over a rare win in a legislature that's strongly resisted most gun limits for years, and is more prone to take action to expand gun owners' rights.

Noting there have 78 domestic violence-related homicides by gun this year, Sen. Tom Killion, a Delaware County Republican who championed the bill in the Senate, said the best feature of the bill is the requirement that guns be transferred to someone who runs the risk of loss of a license if they give them back to the owners while the protection orders are in effect.

Perpetrators can easily take guns back from friends or relatives, Killion said, and then "they've shot children, they've shot women, they've shot men, and in many cases they kill themselves.

"This is a good bill, and it's going to make Pennsylvania a safer place, and domestic violence victims will be able to sleep at night."

Many believe this fall's votes also shows the ground has shifted, if only slightly, in a national debate that roared back to political prominence after the deaths of 17 at a high school in Parkland, Fla. in February.

In the wake of the Parkland shooting, sources here noted, even the NRA agreed to be neutral on HB 2060, which meant support for it wouldn't be scored negatively in the association's grade for lawmakers.

That provided essential political cover for lawmakers who like to tout their strong ratings with the NRA.

However it came about, gun control advocates were pinching themselves over the win.

"There was a recognition that firearms make domestic violence much more combustible and much more dangerous... and now we're taking steps to address it," said Shira Goodman, executive director of the gun control advocacy group CeaseFire PA.

"Today marks a victory for safety."