The measure, which Toomey, R-Penn., introduced with Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., was five votes short of the 60 needed to break a Republican filibuster of the bill.

Though a few Democrats also voted against the bill, Toomey blamed the measure's failure on the politicization of the Republican Party. “In the end it didn’t pass because we’re so politicized," he said. "There were some on my side who did not want to be seen helping the president do something he wanted to get done, just because the president wanted to do it."

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The first sign that some of the 54 senators who voted against the background check bill were in trouble came from New Hampshire, where first-term Republican Sen. Kelly Ayotte’s approval rating fell to 44 percent, a 15 percent drop from a survey last fall by Public Policy Polling. New Hampshire newspapers slammed her vote, with the Concord Monitor calling it “utter nonsense” and an “abomination.”

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From Gallup:

Prior to the Senate's failure to pass the measure, numerous polls showed that roughly nine in 10 Americans favor expanded gun background checks in concept -- a fact that a number of journalists, columnists, and politicians made note of. Gallup's Jan. 19-20 survey, for example, showed that 91% of Americans said they personally would vote for a measure requiring criminal background checks for all gun sales. Gallup asked this question again in the April 22-25 survey and found a slight decline, to 83% support. The wording of the new question was slightly modified from the January asking, which may be responsible for some of the change. But it also may be that the Senate's failure to pass the measure deflated Americans' support for it.

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From the poll:

Pennsylvania voters approve 34 - 29 percent of the way U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey is handling gun control and give Sen. Toomey an overall 48 - 30 percent approval rating, his highest ever. By a 54 - 12 percent margin, voters think more favorably of Toomey because of his co-sponsorship of legislation to require expanded background checks.

Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., on the other hand, is suffering, in part because of her vote against background checks. A poll earlier this week from the Democratic-leaning Public Policy Polling showed Ayotte's approval rating tank by 15 points since October.

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Those Democrats were Heidi Heitkamp (N.D. -- a state that should not be a separate state from South Dakota), Max Baucus (Mont.), Mark Begich (big icy pool of oil by Canada) and Mark Pryor (Ark.). Baucus, Begich and Pryor are up for reelectiion next year. Heitkamp's excuse is that the entire population of her state is old white gun nuts. Liberals may call for those senators to be punished. Democrats will respond, correctly, that if those senators lose primaries to more liberal candidates, Republicans will win those seats.  The correct response, as always, is to eliminate the U.S. Senate.

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So it was big news when he decided to hook up with Pennsylvania Republican Sen. Pat Toomey on compromise gun control legislation expanding background checks and closing the so-called gun-show loophole. When Manchin announced that he was working on such measures, the Washington Post’s Greg Sargent said it represented “real movement in the right direction” and might even “give cover to all of the other red state Democrats who are skittish about embracing this common sense step.” Sargent was also encouraged that the NRA darling said he was discussing the measures with the NRA.

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"We will not get the votes today," Manchin, D-W. Va., told NBC News' Kelly O'Donnell, though added that they would try again.

From NBC News:

Potential supporters, Republican Sens. Jeff Flake, of Arizona, and Florida’s Marco Rubio, could not risk a stand on background checks in the face of opposition from their conservative base because they are already leading on immigration, Manchin said.

Sources also told NBC News that the effort’s proponents are 4 to 5 votes short, a gulf that could widen if Democrats in conservative states decide not to support the measure.

The Senate is set to hold nine total votes on gun control measures on Wednesday, including Manchin and Toomey's proposal, an assault weapons ban and a ban on high-capacity magazines, all of which are expected to fail.

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From the Washington Post:

In an effort to win the support of some undecided rural-state senators, Manchin and Toomey were discussing the possibility Monday of adding language that would exempt select far-flung communities in Alaska and North Dakota from some background check requirements, according to Senate aides familiar with the talks. Such exceptions could help win the support of Alaska’s senators Mark Begich (D) and Lisa Murkowski (R) and North Dakota Democrat Heidi Heitkamp, a moderate with an A-rating from the NRA.

The New York Times reports that the measure is seeing reluctance from both Democrats and Republicans, despite the fact that it is primarily being pushed by Manchin, a Democrat, and Toomey, a Republican, both of whom are A-rated by the NRA.

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The New York Times reports:

Senator Mark Begich, Democrat of Alaska, says he will vote against the measure, and at least three other Democrats are expected to join him in trying to defeat it, including Heidi Heitkamp, a freshman senator from North Dakota. Some left-leaning Democrats may also balk because of the gun-rights provisions that have been added to the bill to entice Republicans.

Among the 16 Republicans who joined 50 Democrats and two independents in voting last week to proceed to consideration of gun legislation, roughly seven have already decided not to support the measure. Another half-dozen Republicans who voted to proceed on the bill remain ambivalent.

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The plan would "strengthen the background check system without in any way infringing on Second Amendment rights," Maine Sen. Susan Collins said in a statement explaining her support for the measure. But she added that "it is impossible to predict at this point" what will be in a final bill.

Arizona Sen. John McCain, who has a B+ rating from the National Rifle Association, said he was "very favorably disposed" to the proposal that has emerged from Sens. Patrick Toomey, R-Pa., and Joe Manchin, D-W.Va.

"I appreciate their work," McCain said. "And the American people want to do what we can to prevent these tragedies. And there's a lot more that needs to be done, particularly in the area of mental health."

It was in McCain's home state that a gunman with schizophrenia shot then-Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in the head during a 2011 rampage in Tucson that left six people killed.

Collins and Sen. Mark Kirk of Illinois are the only two Republicans besides Toomey who are expected to vote for the compromise as of now.

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Meredith Shiner of Roll Call reports:

Toomey, the former Club for Growth president, had told Manchin he would not speak at the news conference if he had to get on stage with Schumer, according to two sources familiar with the talks. Schumer obliged, and Kirk also agreed not to appear in order to provide cover to Schumer.

“Manchin and Toomey are the best people to sell this agreement to the pro-gun community, and Schumer doesn’t want to get in the way of that. His job is to persuade the gun safety groups that it’s an acceptable deal,” a Democratic aide said of the group’s dynamic.

According to Shiner, there were fears on both sides of the aisle that Schumer would become the senator most closely associated with the bill, which would hurt the bill's chances of pulling in conservative support.

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From the Washington Post:

The proposed agreement would be more stringent than current law, which requires checks only when purchases are made through a licensed dealer, but less than originally sought by President Obama and congressional Democrats, who were seeking to expand background checks to nearly every kind of sale.

The agreement should secure enough bipartisan support for the Senate to proceed to debate on an overarching bill that would expand background checks, make gun trafficking a federal crime for the first time and bolster federal funding for school security plans. Senate Democratic leaders have said they will permit senators of both parties to introduce amendments to the measure.

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"We're going to vote Thursday," Reid said. "I'm going to file cloture on the bill tonight."

Though Democrats do have the numbers to break the filibuster, they still might not have enough votes to overcome other procedural hurdles and hold an up-or-down vote.

More than a dozen Republican senators, including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, said that they would join a filibuster led by Rand Paul to stop debate on gun control legislation.

But at least eight other Senate Republicans broke ranks and said they would vote for cloture with the Democrats. From the Washington Post:

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From the Washington Post:

Manchin and Toomey are developing a measure to require background checks for all gun purchases except sales between close family members and some hunters, which addresses concerns of some conservatives, according to the aides, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk publicly about the talks.

Spokesmen for Manchin and Toomey said only that the senators are talking to many of their colleagues about gun legislation and could not confirm details of their discussions.

Both senators have received A-ratings from the NRA.

Manchin has been involved in talks for a gun control deal for several weeks, along with Sens. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Mark Kirk, R-Ill., and Tom Coburn, R-Okla. But the talks recently hit a roadblock over Coburn's opposition to keeping records of private gun sales.

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Sens. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Mark Kirk, R-Ill., who are both "F"-rated by the NRA, and Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W. Va., and Tom Coburn, R-Okla., who are both "A"-rated by the NRA, have been quietly working on a compromise.

CNN reports:

CNN is told the legislation they are working on would effectively require background checks on private gun purchases made with non-licensed gun dealers, according to sources in both parties. That would include closing the so-called gun show loophole.

However, the sources emphasize they are trying to work through this sticky issue so that Republicans, especially Coburn, are comfortable that it would address privacy concerns of gun owners, and would have clear exemptions for situations where a background check should not be needed. The most common example of that scenario is a grandfather or uncle giving guns they already own to a grandson or nephew.

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The bill, introduced by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, D-N.Y., would ban over 100 different types of weapons. From the Washington Post:

The bill is a far-reaching attempt to rein in the use of such weapons by prohibiting the sale, transfer and manufacturing of more than 100 specific weapons, including certain semiautomatic rifles, handguns and shotguns that can hold detachable magazines or hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition. Aides said Wednesday that sponsors were still sorting out specific details of the bill to make the package as politically tenable as possible.

But it may be difficult for Senate Democrats to wrangle some members of their own party, like Joe Manchin of W.Va., an NRA-backed senator whose state is home to a number of gun owners. Manchin has not yet said whether he will support an assault weapons ban, but has faced opposition from his constituents, including a group that picketed his office. Most recently, Manchin said he doesn't think an assault weapons ban could pass on its own.

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So, we have a conservative Republican whom Republicans hate and a conservative Democrat whom Democrats hate. Classic No Labels!

But No Labels says they've heard your complaints. They claim they're finished with promoting "centrism." Instead of imagining themselves the arbiters of the imaginary "middle," they will fight for real reforms that will end congressional dysfunction.

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The Huffington Post reports:

State Rep. Kendell Kroeker (R-Evansville) has put forward a bill making it a felony to enforce in Wyoming any federal ban on assault weapons or high-capacity gun magazines, two proposals that Biden's gun control task force is likely to present to President Barack Obama on Tuesday. The task force's recommendations, of course, would have to be passed by Congress and signed by Obama in order to become law.

Kroeker said his bill, which would hit federal agents with up to five years in prison and a $50,000 fine for attempting to enforce such bans, is designed to be proactive in preserving gun rights in Wyoming.

Kroeker explained that he wants "to get things ahead of the game" in case Biden's measures make it through. "We take the Second Amendment seriously in Wyoming."

"I take an oath to uphold, support and defend the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of Wyoming," he told HuffPo. "I believe it is my duty to take that oath seriously. If the federal government is going to pass laws taking back our rights, it is our right as a state to defend those rights."

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Manchin, who has an A-rating from the NRA and who on Monday said that "we need to sit down and have a common-sense discussion" about gun control,  said in an interview on West Virginia MetroNews:

“I’m not supporting a ban on anything.  I’m supporting a conversation on everything,” Senator Manchin said.

“I can’t say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to any of the things because all I’ve asked for, I want the NRA to tell me why we have any weapon you might want.  Is there any grounds or any changes or anything they would like to look at?  I don’t know.  I can’t even get a conversation to have responsible people at the table to finally come out with a conclusion.”

In response to an announcement by the NRA that they would hold a press conference on Friday and provide "meaningful contributions" to the gun control conversation, Manchin added: “I’m so proud of the NRA. I’m so pleased they agreed to be part of this.”

Via Politico.

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"It's time to move beyond rhetoric," Manchin said on Morning Joe. "We need to sit down and have a common sense discussion and move in a reasonable way."

Manchin, who has an A-rating from the NRA, continued:

"I believe this is a time for all of us to sit down and move in a responsible manner. And I think [the NRA] will. If Dianne [Feinstein]'s saying basically that assault weapons — I don't know anyone in the sporting or hunting arena that goes out with an assault rifle. I don't know anybody that needs 30 rounds in the clip to go hunting. I mean, these are things that need to be talked about."

"Everything has to be on the table, and I think it will be," Manchin added.

Watch:

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