WASHINGTON – After a couple of false starts, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved a bill Thursday that would ban assault weapons, restrict the size of ammunition clips and require universal background checks on gun sales.

But in spite of passionate pleas by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., the bill’s sponsor, it heads to the Senate floor with no Republican support, and it may not have the backing of every Democrat. The Republican-led House of Representatives is all but certain to reject it.

“As I’ve said before, the road is uphill,” Feinstein said Thursday, after her bill cleared the panel on a party-line vote of 10-8.