WASHINGTON, June 15 (UPI) — A handful of Democrats launched a filibuster Wednesday in the U.S. Senate, saying they will talk until something is done to spur greater gun control in the wake of the massacre at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla.
Sen. Christopher Murphy, D-Conn., initiated the filibuster just before noon and was joined by Sens. Cory Booker, D-N.J., Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Dick Durbin, D-Ill.
The filibuster, which is effectively an interruption of all business on the Senate floor, is intended to protest inaction on gun control measures advocated by President Barack Obama and other Democrats for years — including an assault weapons ban.
The senators are trying to spur a response in the Republican-controlled Congress.
“I’ve had enough and I just couldn’t bring myself to come back to the Senate this week and pretend like this is just business as usual,” Murphy said Wednesday. “We’ve got to find a way to come together. Now I don’t know how long this will take but I’m going to stand here and hold the floor while we give time to our colleagues to try and find a path forward.”
One point of gun control that Republicans and Democrats may agree on is keeping individuals on the federal terror watch list from buying firearms.
“There’s no debate that we both want to keep guns out of the hands of terrorists. We want to make sure it’s done in a constitutional way,” Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn, R-Texas, said, adding that Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., had joined him to determine whether there is a consensus in favor of the “no fly, no buy” measure.
“I live every single day with the memory of Sandy Hook,” Murphy said. “I know this is inconvenient for the leadership and colleagues on both sides of the aisle. I get that. … But I’ve had enough.”
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