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The bipartisan deal on expanded background checks for gun buyers appeared Sunday to garner more Republican support, but Capitol Hill leaders could not say whether the overall gun-control bill will have enough votes as the full debate begins this week.

The legislation will need 60 votes to pass in the chamber, which means it will need Republican support as well as support from Senate Democrats facing re-election in districts with a strong tradition of gun rights.

The National Rifle Association has made it clear that it doesn't like the Manchin-Toomey bill, which would extend backgrounds checks to gun shows and online sales. And the NRA has reason to be afraid: Republican senators, including Mark Kirk (Ill.), Susan Collins (Maine), and John McCain (Ariz.), have all joined its Republican co-author Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) in supporting the bill.

An even bigger shock came when the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA) publicly backed the bill, according to Politico. At 650,000 members, the CCRKBA claims to be the second biggest gun-rights group in the country. True, that's only a fraction of the NRA's 5 million members, but the fact that a gun-rights group that has opposed background checks in the past is now on board with Manchin-Toomey could be crucial in getting the necessary 60 votes in the Senate.