U.S. Senate Votes Down Chris Murphy's Gun Control Proposals

Washington, DC — Last Wednesday Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy stood for nearly 15-hours as part of a filibuster aimed at getting the U.S. Congress to debate gun violence laws in the wake of the country’s deadliest mass shooting that left 50 people dead in Orlando.

Murphy’s filibuster worked in that Congress debated the topic of gun control Monday evening but in the end nothing changed.

Murphy and fellow Democrats last week urged 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.

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But the Senate voted 44 to 56 Monday night against approving an amendment that would bar anyone on a federal terrorist watch list from purchasing a gun, the Connecticut Mirror reports.

Murphy had said last week that he wanted a vote so each senator’s position on the topic would be put on the record. On Monday, three Democratic senators voted with Republicans, while member of the GOP broke party ranks and voted with Democrats, the Mirror reports.

On Monday night Governor Dannel P. Malloy and Lt. Governor Nancy Wyman released the following statements regarding failed votes in the U.S. Senate for the Feinstein amendment that would have prevented those on the terror watch list from legally purchasing firearms in the United States, as well as the Murphy/Blumenthal amendment establishing universal background checks:

Malloy said, “When it comes to guns, Connecticut continues to lead time and time again. On a day in which the Supreme Court upheld the smartest gun law in the nation here in our state, we see Congressional Republicans in Washington vote down these basic, commonsense amendments to make Americans safer.

“The senators who voted against this legislation tonight should be ashamed, not only for voting against the vast majority of Americans who overwhelmingly support these commonsense policies, but also for putting their own interests before safety. It’s simple – everyone should have to pass a background check, and if a person is on a watch list because of suspected terrorist activities and cannot board an airplane, then we should not be selling them military-style assault weapons. Enough is enough. Yet, this Republican Congress has again failed to act and has stood in the way of meaningful, commonsense steps to make us safer. It is as discouraging as it is baffling.

“I applaud Senator Murphy, Senator Blumenthal, and our entire federal delegation for helping us get to this point. While the vote is disappointing, the fact that there even were votes on commonsense gun safety proposals is due directly to their leadership," Malloy concluded in his statement.

Last week Murphy’s office got 10,000 calls during the filibuster, which was the 9th longest on record since 1900, according to NBC News.

Related stories:

• POLL: Should Assault Weapons Be Banned?
• Orlando Massacre Victims: Beyond A List Of Names, Stories Of Those Killed
• Courtney Compliments Murphy on Filibuster, Reiterates Call For Gun Legislation
• Rep. Jim Himes Protests 'Smug' Moment of Silence for Orlando
• New Jersey Ex-Wife of Orlando Shooter Talks to Media

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?"

Last week, 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.

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.

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.
Image captured from CSPAN broadcast