On Wednesday, Senate Democrats decided they weren’t going to hang out and wait for the next mass shooting to happen. As the popular expression goes, it’s not a question of if, but when, and these attacks occur on a near daily basis in the United States. Sunday brought the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history at Orlando’s Pulse nightclub, which ended in 49 deaths from a gunman wielding an AR-15. In response, Senator Chris Murphy (of Connecticut) gathered up several allies and decided to hold a filibuster. Their aim was to close a gun terror loop by requiring background checks for everyone who buys a gun. And they wanted people on the no-fly list to be absolutely banned from purchasing a firearm.
Unfortunately for the Dems, they were pushed to this filibuster because the gun control provisions they wanted were tacked onto a spending bill. They took advantage of how Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell hadn’t yet filed the bill, and they took the floor. The Senators vowed to keep talking until they could stand no more, and after almost 15 hours, the participating lawmakers — including Murphy, Cory Booker, Elizabeth Warren, Richard Blumenthal and many more — found victory at around 2 a.m. EST.
As an added note, Tammy Baldwin reportedly set off the evening’s most emotional section by listing each mass shooting from the past ten years. This task took a full 10 minutes. The main star of the show, however, was Murphy, who tweeted his high stakes all day.
How many people have to die before we decide the death toll is too high? We cannot wait to act. #Enough pic.twitter.com/pMn9hYTxJv
— Chris Murphy 🟧 (@ChrisMurphyCT) June 16, 2016
This morning, I decided to #HoldTheFloor until we got a vote on common sense legislation to help prevent gun violence.
— Chris Murphy 🟧 (@ChrisMurphyCT) June 16, 2016
About an hour before the filibuster ended, Murphy started dropping clues that a resolution for the evening was on the horizon. Fifteen hours, man. Ted Cruz did 21 hours a few years ago — he famously read a children’s book aloud and never went to the bathroom even once. But almost 15 hours was enough for Murphy, who traded duties with his pals and who pretty much drove the GOP crazy until a deal for a vote was made.
I am proud to announce that after 14+ hours on the floor, we will have a vote on closing the terror gap & universal background checks
— Chris Murphy 🟧 (@ChrisMurphyCT) June 16, 2016
This would never have happened without you. Without your outpouring of support- your calls, tweets & emails. Your deafening calls for action
— Chris Murphy 🟧 (@ChrisMurphyCT) June 16, 2016
This is one step. The fight is far from over. But there are millions of voices calling for change. And we cannot stop pushing #Enough
— Chris Murphy 🟧 (@ChrisMurphyCT) June 16, 2016
Mission accomplished? The Democrats made more of a statement than a concrete solution. Nothing is set in stone yet, and “friendly” conversations may end up being just that. Perhaps we’ll get a better idea, but the two sides surely won’t agree on gun control anytime soon.