Former President Bill Clinton says he's disappointed the Senate fell short of the votes needed to expand background checks for gun purchases.
Clinton tells The Associated Press that passing the measure, in his words, "would save a lot of kids' lives in a lot of places."
The former president made the comments Thursday in Washington after an appearance to promote a partnership with the AFL-CIO and the Clinton Global Initiative on energy efficiency.
Clinton says he appreciates the bipartisan efforts of Republican Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania and Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia. The two brokered a compromise that would have subjected buyers at gun shows and on the Internet to background checks.
In 1994, Clinton signed an assault weapons ban into law. The ban expired in 2004.
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