The U.S. Senate Democrats ended an almost 15-hour filibuster early Thursday after Republican Party leaders agreed to allow votes on two proposed gun control measures.
Sen. Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut, said that a compromise had been reached. "We did not have that commitment when we started today," Murphy said. Votes will now be held on whether to ban people on the government's terrorist watchlist from obtaining gun licenses and whether to expand background checks to gun shows and internet sales, he added, according to NBC News.
Democrats, led by Murphy, launched a filibuster on the U.S. Senate floor Wednesday to urge legislation for gun control in the wake of the Orlando massacre. “I am prepared to stand on the senate floor and talk about the need to prevent gun violence for as long as I can. I’ve had enough,” said Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy. “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 that automatic weapons were designed to kill as many people as possible as quickly as possible. He argued that it is too easy for automatic weapons to be obtained. Seven democrats protested alongside Murphy in the filibuster designed to delay Senate proceedings and bring greater attention to the issue. They highlighted ongoing gun violence across the U.S. and frequent mass shootings. Forty-nine people were killed in the massacre at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida Sunday. The shooter was identified as Omar Mateen, who worked for security company G4S. Many Republicans, along with the National Rifle Association, have opposed gun control measures because they say it infringes on citizens’ constitutional right to bear arms.