Boo-yah.

The U.S. Senate in a surprise twist on Tuesday killed popular legislation to shield the firearms industry from lawsuits after gun control advocates successfully tacked on their own top priorities and drew the ire of the powerful gun lobby.

Overcoming intense opposition from the National Rifle Association, gun control advocates passed amendments extending the 1994 assault weapons ban for another decade, instituting criminal background checks at gun shows and requiring trigger locks or similar safety devices to be sold with all handguns.

But shortly before the final vote, the NRA in an e-mail to senators repudiated the amended bill, and said senators' vote on it "will be used in our future evaluations and endorsements of candidates."

The legislation's chief sponsor, Idaho Republican Sen. Larry Craig, urged colleagues to vote against it. "I believe it is so dramatically wounded that it should not pass," said Craig, who serves on the NRA board.

Craig later acknowledged to reporters that the bill was most likely dead for the year -- although he also vowed to block any attempt to revive the assault weapons ban, which is supported by many law enforcement groups and big city mayors.

Oh boo-hoo, Larry. This concludes my insightful political analysis.