The Thune Amendment, a gun de-control measure attached to another bill, was defeated in the Senate today. Washington Post:

Supporters included all but two Republicans and 20 Democrats, but the vote of 58 to 39 in favor fell two short of the 60 needed to defeat a filibuster.

Despite its defeat, the amendment, sponsored by Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), demonstrated the continuing power of the National Rifle Association and the gun rights issue in Congress. Rather than a setback, those backing the effort consider the vote a sign of strength for the Second Amendment and are planning more gun-related amendments to other legislation throughout the year. Afterward, Thune said he hopes the Senate will "reconsider this important issue" later this year. [...]Big-city mayors, such as New York's Michael R. Bloomberg (I), also voiced opposition, as did gun victims groups, such as families of students killed in the 2007 Virginia Tech shootings. "This bill is an anti-police, pro-gun-trafficker bill," Bloomberg said on the eve of the vote. "It is a bill that will make the police's job much more difficult and much more dangerous, and it will make the streets of our country -- not just big cities, it's small towns as well -- it will make them much more dangerous than they have to be."

Both New York Senators voted against the amendment, and it's worth pointing out that mayor Bloomberg vocally opposed the amendment as well.  read more »