Toomey Gun Control Amendment Fails in Senate

U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey sounded unconcerned in a conference call Wednesday when a reporter asked about the possibility that his NRA rating would be downgraded because of his recent compromise move on gun control.

"This is not about the NRA or politics for me," Toomey said.

The Toomey-Manchin amendment to expand background checks was narrowly defeated in the Senate on Wednesday afternoon. The vote was 54 yes to 46 no. Sixty votes rather than a simple majority were needed to pass the amendment.

Toomey issued this statement just after the vote:

“I did what I thought was the right thing for our country. I sought out a compromise position that I thought could move the ball forward on an important matter of public safety. My only regret is that our amendment did not pass. It’s not the outcome I hoped for, but the Senate has spoken on the subject, and it’s time to move on. We have a lot of other very important issues to deal with such as getting the economy back on track, dealing with the debt ceiling and creating more jobs for Pennsylvanians.”

The amendment put Toomey, of Zionsville in Lehigh County, in the national spotlight as "Saturday Night Live" spoofed the legislation over the weekend.

Toomey called the amendment "common sense" rather than gun control.

"It's a common sense effort to make it more difficult for criminals and the dangerously mentally ill to obtain a firearm," he said.

The deal reached by lawmakers last week would have:

• Required that all criminal records and mental health records be added to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System
• Expanded existing background checks to sales at gun shows or made online
• Barred the federal government from creating a national firearms registry

Dozens of Pennsylvania Republicans in state government criticized Toomey's amendment, according to a Pennsylvania Independent report.

Toomey, a gun owner, said the legislation would not infringe on any constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens.

Pennsylvania’s other senator, Democrat Bob Casey, changed his stance on gun control measures following the mass shooting in Newtown, Conn.

A Franklin and Marshall College Poll from February showed 94 percent of Pennsylvanians support background checks on all firearm purchases.

Chris Cox of the NRA issued this statement following Wednesday's Senate vote:

"Today, the misguided Manchin-Toomey-Schumer proposal failed in the U.S. Senate. This amendment would have criminalized certain private transfers of firearms between honest citizens, requiring lifelong friends, neighbors and some family members to get federal government permission to exercise a fundamental right or face prosecution. As we have noted previously, expanding background checks, at gun shows or elsewhere, will not reduce violent crime or keep our kids safe in their schools.

The NRA will continue to work with Republicans and Democrats who are committed to protecting our children in schools, prosecuting violent criminals to the fullest extent of the law, and fixing our broken mental health system. We are grateful for the hard work and leadership of those Senators who chose to pursue meaningful solutions to our nation’s most pressing problems."