Gun Violence Filibuster Ends After Nearly 15 Hours; Vote on Deck

Washington, DC — Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy and other proponents of gun control said Thursday that things in Congress are moving in the right direction, but much work still has to be done.

"My legs are a little bit rubbery but my heart is strong because I know we made a difference yesterday,” Murphy said of his nearly 15-hour filibuster.

His office got 10,000 calls during the filibuster, which was the 9th longest on record since 1900, according to NBC News.

Murphy was joined by fellow Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal, New Jersey Sen. Corey Booker and family members of gun violence victims at a Thursday morning press conference urging senators to vote on two primary legislative measures: universal background checks, or closing the “gun-show loophole,” and the prevention of suspected terrorists from buying firearms.

"We’ll see if Republican members can vote with the NRA, vote against 90 percent of their constituents who want terrorists to be kept from buying guns," Murphy said.

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Tina Meins, whose father Damian Meins was killed in the San Bernardino mass shooting, demanded that Congress take action to prevent suspected terrorists from legally getting their hands on guns.

"I can’t wrap my mind around why anyone in Congress thinks this is acceptable,” she said.

Booker said that usually he is energized when people from diverse backgrounds come together passionately on an issue, but he said it is agonizing to watch when it comes to gun control.

"These are people bound by brutality and bloodshed and tied together by tragedy and their numbers are growing every day,” he said.

The filibuster that started shortly before 11:30 a.m. Wednesday ended just after 2:10 a.m. Thursday with an impassioned speech by the man who started it.

Murphy closed his nearly 15-hour stand with a plea for change in gun-control legislation next to a photo of a 6-year-old boy killed nearly four years ago in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.

"It doesn't take courage to stand here on the floor of the United State Senate for two hours or four hours or 14 hours or to stand up here when 90 percent of your constituents want change to happen," he said. "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 just a tiny, little, itty piece of increased peace of mind for a little boy under your charge."

He then charged his colleagues to do more to prevent gun violence, asking, "If Ann Marie Murphy could do that then ask yourself, what can you do to make sure that Orlando or Sandy Hook never ever happens again?"

Murphy was making the rounds on television news shows Thursday morning, including appearances on CBS and CNN.

Blumenthal was the last to speak before Murphy yielded the floor; Booker preceded Blumenthal.

"I'm going to remain on this floor until we get some signal, some sign that we can come together on these two measures, that we can get a path forward on addressing this epidemic in a meaningful bipartisan way," Murphy said at the beginning of the filibuster.

His first tweet after yielding the floor suggested this is just the beginning.

At 9:45 p.m., more than 10 hours into the filibuster, Murphy said he could not come back to Washington after the nation's deadliest mass shooting and not broach the topic of gun violence.

"I couldn't pretend there was nothing we can do about it, when of course, we can do something about it," Murphy said.

He said it would be "unconscionable" to not discuss gun violence now and stressed his preference is a bipartisan solution. However, he said if Republicans aren't willing to discuss the issue then it's time to ask the following question and vote up or down on it: "Do you want terrorists in this country to own guns? ... Let's put that question on the floor of the Senate and see where we stand."

The filibuster came after a mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida left 50 dead, including the shooter, and more than 50 wounded. It is the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.

Democrats are pushing to debate adding gun-control amendments to a spending bill that was working its way through the Senate on Wednesday, following the weekend’s mass shooting.

Murphy said the debate on amendments to the Commerce, Science, Justice, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill shouldn’t proceed until the Senate comes together on two ideas.

“That is one piece of legislation that Senator [Diane] Feinstein has introduced that would simply say that if you are on a terror watch list, that you shouldn't be able to buy a weapon,” he said. “Second, in order to make that protection meaningful, you also need to make sure that whenever a would-be shooter buys a gun, he goes through a background check.”

Murphy is all too familiar with how gun violence can affect a community. The December 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting left 20 children and six educators dead. Since then the junior Connecticut senator has been extremely vocal about gun control efforts.

Earlier this week U.S. Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.) protested a House of Representatives moment of silence for the Orlando victims.

"I will no longer stand here absorbing the faux concern contrived gravity and tepid smugness of a house complicit in the weekly bloodshed," he said on the House floor.

Several other Democratic senators have joined Murphy and voiced support for his marathon. Early on, Blumenthal and Booker announced that they are ready for the long haul.

"This effort is more than about just words," Blumenthal said. "This chamber is filled with words. Rhetoric is the business of the floor of the chamber. We're here today to seek action."

Murphy has only yielded the floor temporarily for questions, which have turned into chances for other senators to voice opinions on the matter of gun control.

Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton voiced her support for the filibuster on Twitter.

Modern filibusters aren't often like the one portrayed in "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" when James Stewart's character talks to the point of passing out from exhaustion.

Sen. Strom Thurmond holds the filibuster record at 24 hours, 18 minutes. He reportedly only took a quick break to use the bathroom after temporarily yielding the floor to then-Sen. Barry Goldwater, according to NPR.

Recent notable talking marathon events by senators include Sen. Rand Paul's 2013 nearly-13 hour event and Sen. Ted Cruz's 21-hour talk, which included reading "Green Eggs and Ham" to his children.

Inside image captured from CSPAN broadcast