A failed vote of 54 to 46 brought the gun control measure effectively to a halt in the upper chamber of Congress on Wednesday, scuttling President Obama's ambitious legislation.

Forty-one Republicans and five Democrats rejected the plan that included expanded background checks despite emotional pleas from the families of the victims of the Newtown massacre.

While President Obama sympathized with America, calling today a shameful day for America. He said in speech in the Rose Garden, “it’s well known that 90 percent of the American people support universal background checks that make it harder for a dangerous person to buy a gun. We’re talking about convicted felons, people convicted of domestic violence, people with a severe mental illness. Ninety percent of Americans support that idea. Most Americans think that’s already the law.”

He continued, saying, “the gun lobby and its allies willfully lied about the bill. They claimed that it would create some sort of “big brother” gun registry, even though the bill did the opposite. This legislation, in fact, outlawed any registry. Plain and simple, right there in the text. But that didn’t matter.”

The bill would have expanded checks involving sales at gun shows and the Internet while exempting sales between friends and acquaintances.

Alaska’s Senator Begich voted against the bill. Begich released a statement after the Senate votes. He said, “I’ve said all along that there are commonsense things we can do to keep our communities safe, but we must do them without undermining our Second Amendment rights. Unfortunately the bill on the Senate floor today would have done just that.”

“I supported several amendments today, including cracking down on illegal activity and increasing penalties for things like criminals illegally obtaining guns through a third party. I believe enforcing the laws currently on the books must be a key component of any strategy to reduce gun violence. I also believe we must address the issue of mental health. That is why Senator Graham and I have introduced legislation to keep guns out of the hands of individuals who are a danger to themselves or others.”

“I will continue to work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to keep our communities safe and reduce acts of gun violence without undermining Alaska values or infringing on our fundamental rights.”

Senator Murkowski also voted “Nay” today. In a statement made yesterday voicing her opposition, she said she would not be supporting the legislation voted on today.

She said yesterday, “We all agree that we want to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and mentally unstable, but there’s a number of paths to the same destination. A lot of attention has been paid to the Manchin-Toomey amendment, but an alternative has been presented by Senator Charles Grassley, my Republican colleague from Iowa. I believe his legislation is more in line with Alaska, because it accomplishes our shared goals without adding any new steps or layers of bureaucracy for any law-abiding Alaskan who wants to purchase a firearm for sport or protection.”

President Obama said of the vote today, It came down to politics — the worry that that vocal minority of gun owners would come after them in future elections. They worried that the gun lobby would spend a lot of money and paint them as anti-Second Amendment.”