He appeared Sunday on CNN's State of the Union.
"I hope that we'll bring this measure up again," Durbin said. "The Manchin-Toomey bipartisan approach for a universal background check to keep guns out of the hands of convicted felons and people so mentally unstable they shouldn't own them, is still sound policy."
The National Rifle Association celebrated the measure's defeat this weekend at the group's annual convention.
But Durbin criticized the NRA for cheering the defeat in the wake of recent gun violence across the country.
"Let us start the conversation about responsibility. Guns save lives. Guns protect our mothers, our wives, our daughters, our children," he said.
One of the key components of the bill was to expand the background check system to include private sales at gun shows and online.
During a vote last month, the senate fell short of the 60 votes it needed to move the bill forward.
Durbin says the senate needs five more votes and President Obama hasn't given up on passing stricter gun control laws.
