DOVER — Two new gun bills are moving forward and several more steps away from becoming law after a Senate committee gave its approval after a meeting Wednesday that drew testimony from more than 50 people.

The Senate Executive Committee gave a thumbs-up to six firearm related bills in total. Three are a part of the gun safety package Gov. John Carney and Senate Democratic leadership announced at the beginning of this month — House Bill 450, a ban on buying, selling or possessing “assault weapons;” House Bill 451, which would raise the legal age to possess a firearm except for certain purposes; and House Bill 423, which would effectively broaden the scope of background checks for firearms purchases. Those could soon reach the governor’s desk.

The gun safety bills are “not a magic wand” to reduce firearm violence, said Traci Murphy, executive director of the Delaware Coalition Against Gun Violence. Ideally, she said in an interview, the bills would be a part of a larger effort that would include community intervention programs and public awareness campaigns. Still, the legislative push has been “incredibly timely, and it’s incredibly critical,” she said.

One recently introduced bill would allow individuals to sue gun sellers in certain circumstances, such as a retailer that sells a firearm to someone whom the retailer suspects will use that weapon to commit a crime. Individuals would have to be “damaged” by a seller’s conduct — or failure to take certain reasonable precautions — to have the right to sue.

Senate Bill 302 is named in honor of Keshall “KeKe’ Anderson, a 19-year-old woman and mother who was killed in 2016 in a drive-by shooting in Wilmington. News reports said that the gun used in the shooting had been sold to a woman who gave it her boyfriend, who was barred from owning firearms. Anderson’s family tried to sue the store where the gun was sold, Cabela’s, arguing that the store “knew or should have known that a straw purchase was underway.”

“Gun violence is a crisis in our state and the gun industry should not be shielded from the law for its actions that contribute to this violence,” said Kisha Bailey, “KeKe” Anderson’s mother, at the committee meeting.

Another of the new bills, Senate Bill 8, would prohibit the purchase, sale or manufacture of auto sears, a component that can convert a semiautomatic weapon into a fully automatic one. It would do so by bringing such components under the definition of “machine gun.” This would make Delaware’s definition of the term match the federal one, said Sen. Dave Sokola, D-Newark, the prime sponsor of the bill.

The final piece of new legislation heard in the committee Wednesday, Senate Bill 328, would allow Delaware manufacturers to continue to sell large-capacity magazines if a proposed ban on such components — Senate Bill 6 — passes. Manufacturers would only be allowed to sell large-capacity magazines to people outside the state.

Only the bill to expand the scope of background checks received overwhelming support from those who testified in person and virtually. Other legislation, such as the assault weapons ban, drew the ire of supporters of gun rights, with some saying the bills would deprive responsible firearm owners of the ability to protect themselves and their families. Mitch Denham, president of Delaware Gun Rights, said the gun control bills were a threat to liberty. He said was worried about the kind of response the bills might provoke.

People in the United States have been “given four boxes for liberty,” he said, referencing a historical concept that has been repeated and shaped by figures such as Frederick Douglass.

“We were given the soap box, which I climb on regularly; we were given the ballot box, which is how some of you got here; the jury box, which is where we’re headed if these bills pass; and the bullet box, which I hope we never get to, but fear is coming. I don’t want anyone in this committee to be the reason that we go to the fourth one. I don’t — I never want to go there. But I fear it’s coming because of bills like this,” he said.

House Bills 450, 451 and 423 from the gun safety package are headed to the Senate floor, which could happen as soon as Thursday. If passed, they will head to the governor. The new bills — SB 302, SB 8 and SB 328 — will next be heard in committee in the House of Representatives.