Senate rejects expanded gun background checks

photo This video frame grab provided by Senate Television shows Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. using a poster of weapons as she speaks about gun legisalation, today on the floor of the Senate on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Senate Television)

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Senate has rejected a bipartisan effort to expand federal background checks to more firearms buyers in a crucial showdown over gun control.

Wednesday's vote was a jarring blow to the drive to curb firearms sparked by December's massacre of children and staff at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn. President Barack Obama made broadened background checks the centerpiece of his gun control proposals.

The roll call was also a victory for the National Rifle Association, which opposed the plan as an ineffective infringement on gun rights.

The proposal would have required background checks for all transactions at gun shows and online. Currently they must occur for sales handled by licensed gun dealers.

The system is designed to keep criminals and people with mental problems from getting guns.

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