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Murphy Wraps Up 15-Hour Filibuster, Gets Commitment For Gun Control Vote

FAIRFIELD COUNTY, Conn. — In the closing moments of a nearly 15-hour filibuster, U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy announced early Thursday that Senate Democrats had received a commitment from Republicans to schedule votes on two amendments to address gun control.

U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut, leads a filibuster on the floor of the Senate on Wednesday afternoon.

U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut, leads a filibuster on the floor of the Senate on Wednesday afternoon.

Photo Credit: C-SPAN2 screengrab

The amendments to strengthen gun purchases would: close the so-called terror gap and expand background checks. 

Murphy grabbed the attention of the nation when he began speaking at 11:21 a.m. Wednesday. By taking control of the floor, he delayed Senate business on the Departments of Commerce and Justice, Science, and Related Agencies appropriations bill, demaning that Republicans agree to hold votes on the two measures. 

Murphy announced the agreement and concluded the filibuster at 2:11 a.m. Thursday, 14 hours and 50 minutes after beginning his speech. 

The junior Democratic senator from Connecticut began the Filibuster just days after 49 people were killed and over 50 were injured by a lone gunman in a gay nightclub in Orlando in what is now the deadliest shooting in U.S. history.

"I am prepared to stand on the Senate floor and talk about the need to prevent gun violence for as long as I can. I've had #Enough," Murphy said via Twitter ‏@ChrisMurphyCT. His Connecticut colleague, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, as well as U.S. Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey and other Democrats joined him in the 15-hour dialogue on aiming to prevent gun violence.

At 7:30 a.m. Thursday, he Tweeted this follow-up: "15 hrs on the floor. 2 hrs of sleep. And I'm back on my (tired) feet, ready to keep pressing Congress to end its silence on gun violence."

Murphy has been an outspoken advocate on gun violence prevention since joining the Senate in January 2013. He has said he was spurred to action after the Sandy Hook School massacre, where 20 first-graders and six educators were killed in December 2012.

Here are highlights of the conclusion of Murphy’s speech early Thursday:

“I think we can report some very meaningful progress over the course of these 13 hours. When we began this debate on the floor – when we declared that we were not going to move forward on the CJS bill without a commitment to talk about what happened in Orlando, to talk about how we fix it – when we began there was no commitment, no plan to debate these measures.

“And it is our understanding that the Republican leader and the Democratic leader have spoken and that we have been given a commitment on a path forward to get votes on the floor of the Senate – on a measure to assure that those on the terrorist watch list do not get guns (the Feinstein amendment), and an amendment introduced by myself and Senator Booker and myself and Senator Schumer to expand background checks to gun shows and to Internet sales.

“Now we still have to get from here to there, but we did not have that commitment when we started today. And we have that understanding at the end of the day…

“I have been so angry that this Congress has mustered absolutely no response to mass shooting after mass shooting, in city after city that is plagued by gun violence. I'm not saying we aren't doing important work but there are 30,000 people dying every day on the streets of this country. And those that they leave behind – their moms and their dads and their little sisters and brothers – don’t get the total indifference that we portray.

“Sandy Hook was three and a half years ago, and Congress hasn't passed a single measure that would make the next mass shooting, the next murder of kids in this country less likely. The American public have already made up their mind that they want a background check system that captures potential terrorists. They want to make sure that everybody that buys a gun through a commercial sale has to prove that they're not a criminal before they buy it. The American people have made up their mind.

“So we chose to ask for the two least controversial provisions possible that will still do a world of good. And I’m glad that we are on a path to get those votes. It is a necessary but insufficient response to the carnage that we witness in this country every single day. This is personal to all of us.

“Senator Kaine said it well earlier tonight that we have scar tissue. But it's razor thin scar tissue compared to those today in Orlando that are living through the catastrophe of losing a 21-year-old son in the prime of his life, of losing a 24-year-old daughter with all of this potential ahead of us.”

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