Politics

Here Are the Results of the 15-Hour Stand-In on Gun Control

June 16th 2016

The Senate will vote on two pieces of gun control legislation. After nearly 15 hours of holding the floor, Sen. Christopher Murphy (D-Conn.) — who couldn't eat, go to the bathroom, or sit down the entire time — ended the filibuster at 2:11 a.m. local time when Senate Republicans agreed to at least take a vote on gun control laws.

What will they be voting on?

Two specific amendments will be considered, and both of them are backed by Democrats. The first is a bill by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) that would ban suspected terrorists from buying guns if the FBI has a "reasonable belief that the weapons would be used in connection with terrorism," according to a press release on Feinstein's official website.

The second bill by filibuster leader Murphy, Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) focuses on required background checks for gun buyers at gun shows and on the internet, according to Politico.

Although Senate Republicans agreed to vote on the issues, there is another fight ahead to get a law passed. Republicans are also expected to put their own versions of gun control bills on the table, reports Politico.

What went down?

The filibuster happened while the Senate was considering a spending bill for the Department of Justice. Democrats hope to add the two gun control amendments to this spending bill.

Murphy started speaking at 11:21 a.m. local time, and didn't finish until 2:11 a.m. He only paused for long "questions" by other senators, which is an excuse to have someone else speak within the rules of a filibuster. More than 40 people spoke on the Senate floor during that marathon session, including Booker, who stayed until the end with Murphy and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass). Warren said that Congress will have "blood on our hands" if they don't pass legislation.

"If we fail to act the next time someone uses a gun to kill one of us, a gun that we could have kept out of the hands of a terrorist, then members of this congress will have blood on our hands," Warren said. 

Murphy's filibuster was the ninth longest in history. Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz's infamous nursery rhyme filibuster in 2013 to protest the Affordable Care Act was the fourth longest. Sen. Strom Thurmond from South Carolina (who was then a Democrat but switched parties to Republican in 1964) holds the record for the longest filibuster for a terrible reason. In 1957, he was protesting the Civil Rights Act.

Will anything happen?

Meanwhile, outside of the Senate floor, negotiations were happening between Feinstein and Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) over the terror watch list amendment. Cornyn, the Senate majority whip, has offered his own version of the amendment, which "would delay the sale for 72 hours, within which time the Department of Justice (DOJ) would have to show probable cause that the weapon could be used in connection with terrorism," the Hill reports. "If a judge doesn’t agree, the sale can proceed." Democrats believe that's not enough time for the DOJ.

Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton tweeted support for the filibuster.

Meanwhile, presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump announced that he would be meeting with the NRA to discuss banning those on the terror watchlist from buying guns.

Social media was lit.

The filibuster rallied support on Twitter with the hashtags #enough and #holdthefloor. Twitter also shared analytics about how many people were talking about the filibuster:

RELATED: 5 Things You Need to Know About the Gun Control Filibuster

Updated 6/16/2016 2:56 p.m. PT: This story has been updated to reflect that Sen. Thurmond was a Democrat when he filibustered in 1957. He switched parties to Republican in 1964.

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