Context, please: The Manchin-Toomey bill for background checks failed a cloture vote, which means that there weren't 60 votes to proceed to a general vote. A majority of the Senate did support cloture.
Most news stories don't report those details, citing it simply as proof of a victory for the NRA (their word, not mine) and the death (again, their word) of gun control.
I agree it's a setback, but any declaration that any legislativeissue is forever settled is premature. There's a great deal of this in the press and in online fora, but it's still a mistake, a slanting of things, etc.
The unadorned Senate site version of things, including a breakdown of votes, is available at the link.
[url]http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=113&session=1&vote=00097[/url]
U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 113th Congress - 1st Session
as compiled through Senate LIS by the Senate Bill Clerk under the direction of the Secretary of the Senate
Vote Summary
Question: On the Amendment (Manchin Amdt. No. 715 )
Vote Number: 97 Vote Date: April 17, 2013, 04:04 PM
Required For Majority: 3/5 Vote Result: Amendment Rejected
Amendment Number: S.Amdt. 715 to S. 649 (Safe Communities, Safe Schools Act of2013)
Statement of Purpose: To protect Second Amendment rights, ensure that all individuals who should be prohibited from buying a firearm are listed in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, and provide a responsible and consistent background check process.
Vote Counts: YEAs 54
NAYs 46
Note particularly the figure "required for majority" versus the number of yea votes. This is another case where the filibuster, or rather the threat of it, was used to thwart the will of the majority.
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