Pennsylvania U.S. Senator Pat Toomey issued the following statement following the rejection by the Senate of the Manchin-Toomey amendment on background checks:

“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 Senate voted 54-46 in favor of the measure, but 60 votes were required to advance the legislation.