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LINCOLN - A watered-down bill on gun violence died Friday after it failed to win a majority vote on second-round debate in the Legislature.

The vote on the bill was 20-20. The measure needed a 25-vote majority to advance to the final round of debate.

State Sen. Brad Ashford introduced Legislative Bill 958 in response to gun violence last year in Omaha, which culminated in December with the slayings of eight people at the Von Maur department store. The teenage shooter, who used an AK-47-style weapon that he took from his stepfather's closet, also killed himself.

Ashford twice scaled back his proposal in an effort to win majority support.

In its final form, the bill called for a State Crime Commission study of gun violence and illegal firearms trafficking.

It also would have repealed Nebraska's 1991 law requiring permits to purchase handguns, instead proposing a requirement that those who purchase any gun from a licensed dealer go through the instant background check set up by federal authorities.

Abandoned were Ashford's original provisions to require that guns be sold with trigger locks and that theft of a gun be reported to law enforcement within 48 hours.

Also jettisoned was a second version, which would have established a special commission to identify inherently dangerous guns that should be banned.

"Positions are so polarized that people don't . . . even want to talk about what seems an innocuous measure," Ashford said after his bill failed Friday. "I understand it's difficult and emotional, but it's still my job to raise it."

After the second revision, the National Rifle Association dropped its earlier opposition and took a neutral stance on the bill. Several state senators said they still couldn't vote for LB 958.

Sen. Russ Karpisek of Wilber was among those voting against the bill.

Karpisek said his constituents, once alerted by the NRA, became adamant that LB 958 be defeated, regardless of any amendment.

"They got a card from the NRA, and now they just see the bill number," he said. "I said I'd vote against the bill, and I had to keep voting against the bill."

Ashford, who sponsored the 1991 handgun permit law, said he promised at that time that he would seek its repeal if a better and quicker method became available to confirm that those seeking to purchase handguns had no history of crime or mental illness.

He said he has now fulfilled that commitment.

Ashford said he would seek a legislative study of gun violence and illegal gun trafficking before the 2009 session convenes.