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FILE: April 10, 2013: Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.V., left, and Patrick Toomey, R-Pa., announce a deal on gun-control legislation, on Capitol Hill, in Washington, D.C.AP
West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin said Sunday he's not finished with his effort to expand background checks for gun buyers, despite the proposal's defeat and other key senators appearing to now move beyond the issue.
Manchin told "Fox News Sunday" that he's going to rework the proposal to get it back to the Senate floor.
"We're going to work this bill with all of our hearts," he told Fox News.
Manchin was joined by Pennsylvania Republican Sen. Pat Toomey in crafting the background check proposal, in part to get bipartisan support for the largely Democratic gun-control plan, following a mass shooting in December 2012 in which 20 first-graders were killed.
However, the proposal to expand the check to online sales and gun shows was shelved earlier this month when it got just 54 of the required 60 Senate votes.
On Friday, Toomey said he had no plans to revive the proposal.
"My own view is very simple: The Senate has had its vote. We've seen the outcome of that vote. I am not aware of any reason to believe that if we had the vote again that we'd have a different outcome," he said, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Manchin told Fox: "I don't think he's done."
He also said he has spoken with fellow gun owners who appear to support legislation that would keep firearms out of the hands of criminals and the severe mentally ill.
Manchin said "law-abiding citizens" support background checks, and he urged Americans to read the proposal, then tell him what parts they don't like.
Senate Majority Harry Reid said days after the defeat of the Manchin-Toomey proposal that he has "hit pause" on efforts to pass comprehensive gun-control legislation.
He said last week the proposal remains a work in progress but no action is being taken now.
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