Last week, the U.S. Senate voted to begin debate on gun legislation.

The bill includes provisions to spend more on school security and to increase penalties for selling guns to felons and others banned from ownership.

Senator Richard Shelby voted against taking up the legislation and he explained why during a visit Saturday to Centre.

Shelby says he opposes anything, real or imagined, that weakens the 2nd Amendment.

In addition, he doesn’t believe any of the proposals being introduced will do anything to reduce gun violence.

The bipartisan 68-31 vote, which saw 16 Republicans join 52 Democrats and independents to begin consideration of gun legislation.

We asked Shelby if he was disappointed that some of his GOP colleagues, including Georgia Senators Johnny Isakson and Saxby Chambliss, voted in favor of moving forward with the debate.

Senator Shelby says he thinks that was a mistake, saying that the bill should have been stopped before it could be debated.

However, he is hopeful that the 16 Republicans will vote against the bill when it comes to a vote.

On Wednesday of last week, Senators Joe Manchin, a Democrat from West Virginia and Patrick Toomey, a Republican from Pennsylvania announced a bipartisan proposal that would require background checks for almost all sales to ensure guns are not sold to prohibited buyers, a compromise that some feel significantly bolsters the bill’s chances.