He thought he did.
He’s making noises like some Senators have been punished in the polls back home for voting against the bill and will come around to his way of thinking this time. More importantly I believe he can bring the bill up again under different rules of the Senate that only require a majority vote instead of the 60 he needed the first time. If that’s true (not sure it is) then he has the votes for sure. Then it would be up to the House.
Remember, federal gun laws are unconstitutional. Nothing they do there matters, legally. Despite what the federal courts might say.
If one can read and understand the words in the Constitution, one is much clearer thinking than those that have sworn to uphold the same document.
“shall not be infringed” means what is sounds like it means. It means the federal government’s only role in gun laws would be to mandate that everyone has weapons, or that everyone is trained to use ‘em. No negative law can pass the “infringement” test. Despite what has already been passed. You get arrested for anything, you need to fight it, and sue for your rights.
Nobody but nobody has ever been diselected for opposing gun control.