Democrats Claim Gun Control Victory
Following a 15-hour filibuster by the Democrats in the United States Senate, Republicans have finally agreed to hold votes on tighter gun control measures. The filibuster was a direct response to the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando last Sunday. It was revealed that the person behind the shooting, Omar Mateen, was on the FBI’s watch-list but was nevertheless able to purchase the gun that he used in the shooting.
Senator Chris Murphy, whose home state of Connecticut suffered a gun related mass violence four years ago that claimed the lives of 20 children, led the filibuster along with several colleagues of the Democratic party in Republican-controlled Senate. A filibuster is an obstruction in the regular procedure of the Senate. Wednesday’s filibuster aimed to press the Republicans into accepting the so-called “no fly, no buy” legislation. Under this legislation, people of the government’s watch list, or in the no-fly list, will not be allowed to purchase firearms.
The discussions began on Wednesday, but when it became pretty apparent that a compromise with the Republicans on gun-related issues was highly unlikely, Senator Murphy took to the floor, and he remained there for most of Wednesday and into Thursday.
“I’m at my wits’ end. I’m going to remain on this floor until we get some signal, some sign that we can come together.”
Murphy and some 40 other senators, including Republican senator Pat Toomey, had a lengthy discussion regarding the methods of reducing of gun-related violence. Murphy, 42, began speaking at 11:21 a.m and showed few signs of fatigue as he was still standing more than 10 hours later. During this, he took the time to recall the shooting at Newtown, Connecticut’s Sandy Hook Elementary School, which had claimed the lives of 20 children in 2012.
“For those of us that represent Connecticut, the failure of this body to do anything, anything at all in the face of that continued slaughter isn’t just painful to us, it’s unconscionable.”
Every day across this nation, 80 lives are cut short by gun violence. #Enough pic.twitter.com/c5kFCfNeNC
— Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) June 16, 2016
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
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
Last night, my wife & 7 year old son surprised me in the gallery. I told him why we were doing this: https://t.co/stZHrrbBks
— Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) June 16, 2016
The Pulse night club incident isn’t just a stray incident, either. Just 164 days into 2016, and there have already been 133 different incidents of mass shooting in the country. America has more gun related violence than any other country in the world. This has a large portion of the population severely worried, and as a result, the gun control debate has garnered significant support from the American public in recent years.
The nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida on early Sunday claimed the lives of 49 people and injured many more, making it the deadliest mass shooting in modern history. Omar Mateen, 29, the child of Afghani immigrants, and a security consultant at G4S, open fired at the Pulse nightclub, a popular gay hangout in Orlando, with an assault rifle that he had legally purchased.
[Photo by J. Scott Applewhite/AP Images]
