Senator Wyden Helps Lead Filibuster Calling for Gun Control

Senator Ron Wyden took to the floor of the Senate on Wednesday supporting a filibuster being carried out by Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut.

Murphy interrupted debate on an appropriations bill to force attention on gun control in light of the massacre of 49 people in Orlando on Sunday.

"Mass shootings are now happening like clockwork in America. Thurston, Columbine, Blacksburg, Tucson, Newtown, Aurora, Charleston, Roseburg, Orlando," Wyden said. "Communities are being torn apart by unspeakable gun violence like clockwork. In this building, we come together for moments of silence honoring the victims of these shootings like clockwork.

"And like clockwork, again, Congress does nothing about it."

Wyden talked about the shooting at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg eight months ago that left nine people dead - ten including the shooter.

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"It was one of the deadliest school shootings in our history as a nation," he said. "What I saw at Umpqua Community College, what I heard from the people at that school and the families in that community, is probably a lot like what my friends from Connecticut see and hear in Newtown, about how the suffering doesn’t go away.

"The reality is, the trauma does not vanish. The news cameras will eventually leave Orlando, just like they left Roseburg. The bullet holes in that nightclub will get patched up. The families and friends of the victims will try to live their lives as best they can, as will Orlando’s LGBTQ community. 

"But trauma does not vanish."

Wyden's colleague, Senator Jeff Merkely joined the filibuster later in the day.

"The common thread that runs between Connecticut and Oregon is that our two states have been the site of two very deadly shootings," Merkley said.

Murphy ended the filibuster after nearly 15 hours and receiving a guarantee that the Senate would vote on universal background checks and denying guns to people on the terror watchlist.

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?," Murphy asked. "...Let's put that question on the floor of the Senate and see where we stand."

The filibuster started shortly before 11:21 a.m. and showed no signs of stopping as midnight approached. It comes after a mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla. left 50 dead and more than 50 wounded. To date it is the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.