Democrats in the Senate ended a 15-hour filibuster early Thursday morning after the GOP agreed to vote on two gun control measures following the mass shooting at a Florida nightclub last Sunday. The filibuster was the ninth longest in recent American history.
Sen. Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut, stood on the Senate floor from Wednesday morning into the early hours of Thursday morning. He assured the Senate that he would stay there “until we get some signal, some sign that we can come together.”
According to The Boston Globe, Murphy left the floor arround 2 a.m., after Republican leaders agreed to vote on amendments to expand background checks and ban gun sales to suspected terrorists.
Following the end of the filibuster, Murphy took to Twitter to share the news.
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 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
Thursday morning, he shared that he was back to work.
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.
— Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) June 16, 2016
He continued,
I thought, could I live w myself if the Senate did nothing – again? Could I look myself in the mirror if I didn’t take a stand? #filbuster
— Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) June 16, 2016
Murphy spent most of his filibuster discussing the events that took place in December 2012 after the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, which killed 20 children.
“It doesn’t take courage to stand here on the floor of the United States Senate for two hours, or six hours, or fourteen hours,” Murphy said. “It doesn’t take courage to stand up to the gun lobby when over 90 percent of your constituents want change to happen! It takes courage to look into the eye of a shooter, and instead of running, wrapping your arms around a 6-year-old boy and accepting death as a trade for a tiny, little piece of mind for a little boy under your charge.” Murphy was referring to Dylan Hockley and Anne Marie Murphy, two victims of the massacre. Anne Marie Murphy was a teacher and Hockley was a student.
Many other Democratic leaders took the floor and shared their own stories of mass shootings in their states.
“The next time someone uses a gun to kill one of us, a gun that we could have kept out of the hands of a terrorist, then members of this Congress will have blood on our hands,” said Sen. Elizabeth Warren from Massachusetts, according to the Globe.
Sen. Bob Casey from Pennsylvania told legislators that allowing a vote is the least they could do. “At least put your hand up for a vote that will begin the long journey to rectify a substantial national problem that takes 33,000 people every year,” Casey said. “All we’re asking for is a start.”
The New York Times points out that there likely would have been votes on both of the gun control amendments even without the filibuster, and that versions of each measure were voted on after the San Bernardino shooting and failed. Still, Murphy’s efforts trended on social media, so he got people’s attention. That counts for something.