Senate Democrats Are Filibustering for Gun Control

'I am prepared to ... talk about the need to prevent gun violence for as long as I can'
By Michael Harthorne,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 15, 2016 1:36 PM CDT
Senate Democrats Are Filibustering for Gun Control
Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut filibusters the Senate on Wednesday in support of gun-control legislation.   (Senate Television via AP)

Senate Democrats, led by Connecticut's Chris Murphy, launched a surprise filibuster Wednesday morning to pressure Republicans on gun control, Politico reports. “I am prepared to stand on the Senate floor and talk about the need to prevent gun violence for as long as I can," Murphy tweets. "I've had #Enough." Murphy was quickly supported by Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey. According to NPR, which has live video of the filibuster, other Democrats have signed up for speaking times as late as 10:30pm. "I can't tell you how hard it is to look into the eyes of the [families] of those little boys and girls who were killed in Sandy Hook and tell them that almost four years later, we have done nothing, nothing at all to reduce the likelihood that that will happen again to another family," Murphy said on the Senate floor.

Murphy's goal is legislation keeping suspected terrorists from buying guns and instituting universal background checks. He wants gun-control amendments addressing both issues added to a spending bill currently being debated by the Senate. Politico reports compromise between the parties on either issue is unlikely. Donald Trump is meeting Wednesday with the NRA on the first issue, CNN reports, but Republicans want a judge to decide if people mistakenly added to a terror watch list can buy guns, while Democrats want that power to lie with the Justice Department. Both methods have already been recently voted down by the Senate. (More filibuster stories.)

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