Senate Democrats ended a nearly 15-hour filibuster early Thursday after Republican Party leaders reportedly agreed to allow votes on two proposed gun control measures.
Sen. Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut, said that a compromise had been reached. Votes would be held on whether to ban people on the government’s terrorist watch list from obtaining gun licenses and whether to expand background checks to gun shows and internet sales, he added.
“We did not have that commitment when we started today,” Murphy said.
The nonstop series of speeches stretched 14 hours and 50 minutes. It followed the shooting massacre at a gay nightclub in Orlando.
I’ve had enough. I’ve had enough of the ongoing slaughter of innocents, and I’ve had enough of inaction in this body,” Murphy said during the filibuster which he launched around 11:21 a.m. Wednesday. He vowed to remain on the Senate floor “until we get some signal, some sign that we can come together.”
By Senate rules, Murphy had to stand at his desk to maintain control of the floor. When asked by another senator how he was feeling just before 7:30 p.m., Murphy said rehabilitation from a back injury in his 20s had helped him build up endurance.
Murphy said he wants Congress to enact tighter restrictions to prevent those with serious criminal histories, those deemed mentally incompetent, and those on terrorism watch lists from obtaining firearms.