Do you support the gun control filibuster happening now?

[sonrisa]

They are 10 hours in. Let your Senator know:

ACTION ALERT: support the democratic filibuster. Let them know you have their backs. Call 1-855 331-8593. You will hear a five second message from Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. They will then ask for your zip code and put you through to your Senator. When they answer, simply say, "I am calling to support the filibuster." Be polite and brief.


(Thanks, WOT?*)

[sonrisa]

www.rollcall.com/news/policy/senate-democrats-begin-filibuster

Senate Democrats Begin Filibuster Over Gun Control

Sen. Christopher S. Murphy took the floor at 11:21 a.m. Wednesday, saying he intended to give an extended speech to protest inaction on gun violence.

A spokesman for the Connecticut Democrat confirmed it was, in effect, a talking filibuster.

"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."
As Murphy held the floor, Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn said he and California Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein were talking to see if there was room for consensus on how to best keep individuals on terror watch lists from buying guns .

"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," the Texas Republican said.

At several points in his filibuster, Murphy ceded the floor to his fellow Connecticut Democrat Richard Blumenthal. Galvanized by the 2012 shooting in their home state that killed 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, both senators urged a ban on assault weapons and better controls over who can buy guns.

Murphy has filed an amendment to the fiscal 2017 Commerce-Justice-Science spending bill to overhaul the nation’s background checks for gun purchasers, including closing the so-called “gun show loophole” by requiring background checks on all gun sales.


The spending bill was expected to come to the floor Wednesday, but Murphy's filibuster stalled action on that and other legislative measures.

Around noon, Sen. Cory Booker took the floor to stress the need for such measures, particularly in light of Sunday's shooting at a nightclub in Orlando, Florida, that left 49 people dead and 53 injured.

The New Jersey Democrat recounted the numbers of people killed in mass shootings in recent years. And he said terrorist attacks are increasingly being committed with guns, not bombs.

"We are hear to say, enough," Booker said. "I've cleared my entire day … so I can stay on this floor and assist Sen. Murphy."

Senate Minority Whip Richard J. Durbin of Illinois took a turn around 12:30 p.m., and Florida Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson emerged around 1:30 to talk about the AR-15, the semi-automatic weapon used in the Orlando attack. New York Sen. Charles E. Schumer followed soon after to talk about efforts to work with Republicans on compromise legislation.

"On our side of the aisle, we are willing to compromise," Schumer said, but added that Democrats could not accept a "meaningless compromise" that would not close loopholes in gun laws.

Sen. Joe Manchin III, a West Virginia Democrat, rose to talk about the gun culture in his rural state. He said responsible gun owners know not to sell to strangers or to criminals. Maryland Democrat Benjamin L. Cardin appeared on the floor at 2 p.m., followed by Massachusetts' Edward J. Markey, Vermont's Patrick J. Leahy and Minnesota's Al Franken.

One Republican senator, Nebraska's Sen. Ben Sasse, rose to ask questions about the terror watch list that could be affected by proposed legislation.

At one point during the filibuster two House Democrats from Connecticut, Joe Courtney and Jim Himes, sat in the Senate chamber to support their colleague.

"It's a small family but we like to support each other," Himes said of the delegation. "And obliviously it was a family that was very, very badly hurt at Sandy Hook Elementary School."

Connecticut Democratic Rep. Elizabeth Esty brought him lunch : a can of the Red Bull energy drink, an apple, hot dogs, Doritos, Powerade and Mountain Dew. She also had deodorant "in case it goes really long."

Unfortunately, by precedent, senators cannot eat or drink anything but milk or water during a filibuster. They can't sit down either.

Murphy's office said the Connecticut senator has taken to the floor 45 times since January 2013 to give "Voices of Victims" speeches highlighting victims of gun violence.

Filibusters-01[4] In addition to the filibuster, Senate Democrats announced Wednesday they will push for funding that would allow the FBI to add nearly 400 new positions to fight terrorism in the wake of the deadly attack in Orlando.

Cornyn was skeptical that the filibuster would produce any results. "I think this is filling dead air while we talk, which we started doing since yesterday."

Cornyn said Feinstein has already presented him with what was "basically a rewrite of her proposal from last December. I told her we're looking at it. We'll see if we can find some common ground, but we're still in that process."

Asked about the possibility of extending the period of time the Justice Department would have to act under his version of the competing proposals from December, Cornyn said that would be "certainly worth discussing."

"The main thing is not the timeline. It's the feasibility of getting the information to the FBI," Cornyn said. "The question is does the FBI have time it needs in order to act, and so that to me would be the critical issue."

Feinstein and Cornyn were the authors of two proposals that received floor votes in December. Neither measure achieved the 60 votes needed to advance.

The White House indicated it would not support any gun control legislation that would place wait times on gun purchases when the would-be buyer is also on the no-fly list. Instead, President Obama wants an outright prohibition on listed individuals being able to legally buy firearms, Press Secretary Josh Earnest said.

While the White House is not ready to endorse — or state its opposition to — Feinstein's version of the measure, Earnest said the Californian is focusing on the right issues.

Asked about the background check issue, Cornyn said, "They're not proposing anything that would have stopped San Bernardino or Orlando. I think we ought to be looking at ways to do that. That's a lot more productive."

[hopecounts]

Done

[aubreyann]

Just called.

[nursecramer]

Jun 15, 2016 20:49:58 GMT -5 sonrisa said:

Asked about the background check issue, Cornyn said, "They're not proposing anything that would have stopped San Bernardino or Orlando. I think we ought to be looking at ways to do that. That's a lot more productive."

[thinkofthesoldiers]

Done.

[isabel]

I emailed mine and sent an email of support to Murphy.

[dianecourt]

Done - thank you!

[sproctopus]

Yes!! They're mine and I'm so proud of CT right now.

[sonrisa]

(There is a monster thread about this over on CEP if you want to see more)

[jillboston]

I've tweeted my senators as well as Murphy and Gillibrand. Keep it up.

[pinkeggs]

Kaine representing VA! So proud.

[starlily]

I tried calling, but the phone just rang endlessly. I'll tweet or email in a few.

[killercupcake]

Left a message. But done.

[cville]

I have left two voicemails.

PLEASE LET THERE BE CHANGE.

Also, Tim Kaine just kicked some ass.

[juliachild]

I emailed.

[esdreturns]

Chris Murphy is my senator, and I'm so proud of him right now.

I emailed him.

[killercupcake]

How long do we think they can go?

[BaliHai]

Done and shared on Facebook. Thank you!

[cville]

Jun 15, 2016 21:51:46 GMT -5 esdreturns said:

Chris Murphy is my senator, and I'm so proud of him right now.

I emailed him.

He's so hot to me right now. Chris Hemsworth could appear in my bedroom shirtless and I'd be all "shhhh, go over there and be quiet. I only have eyes for Sen. Murphy."

[esdreturns]

Jun 15, 2016 21:56:54 GMT -5 cville said:

Jun 15, 2016 21:51:46 GMT -5 esdreturns said:

Chris Murphy is my senator, and I'm so proud of him right now.

I emailed him.

He's so hot to me right now. Chris Hemsworth could appear in my bedroom shirtless and I'd be all "shhhh, go over there and be quiet. I only have eyes for Sen. Murphy."

LOLOL. I completely agree!

[vanillacourage]

One of my senators (R) has his voicemail on. "Our office hours are..."

The other, (D), has a full mailbox.  :Y:

[killercupcake]

I just emailed Heller.

[Gato]

I just emailed Susan Collins. Angus King has already spoken in support of it. He noted that since the filibuster began this morning, ten people have been killed by guns in the U.S.

[killercupcake]

My best friend's aunt was killed in the Seal Beach shooting Tammy Baldwin just talked about. That just shook me up.

[scottyderp]

Thanks for sharing all this good stuff.

I'm so anti-gun it's not funny.

[pantsparty]

Just left messages for both my Senators.

Hold the floor!

[sonrisa]

Jun 15, 2016 22:34:02 GMT -5 pantsparty said:

Just left messages for both my Senators.

Hold the floor!

Boxer, it's time to get your butt out there!  She's been representing me in some capacity ever since I first moved to the US. 

[hopecounts]

Jun 15, 2016 21:51:50 GMT -5 killercupcake said:

How long do we think they can go?

The longest filibuster on record was Strom Thurmond and it was 24 hrs let's hope they can go that long and beat the record.

[sonrisa]

Jun 15, 2016 22:37:32 GMT -5 hopecounts said:

Jun 15, 2016 21:51:50 GMT -5 killercupcake said:

How long do we think they can go?

The longest filibuster on record was Strom Thurmond and it was 24 hrs let's hope they can go that long and beat the record.

This is currently 10th longest, ever. Soon he'll out do Rand Paul.

10 longest filibusters according to wikipedia since 1900:

1) Strom Thurmond (D-SC) August 28, 1957 Civil Rights Act (1957) 24:18

2) Alfonse D'Amato (R-NY) October 17, 1986 Defense Authorization Act (1987), amendment 23:30

3) Wayne Morse (I-OR) April 24, 1953 Submerged Lands Act (1953) 22:26

4) Robert M. La Follette, Sr. (R-WI) May 29, 1908 Aldrich–Vreeland Act (1908) 18:23

5) William Proxmire (D-WI) September 28, 1981 Debt ceiling increase (1981) 16:12

6) Huey Long (D-LA) June 12, 1935 National Industrial Recovery Act (1933), amendment 15:30

7) Alfonse D'Amato (R-NY) October 5, 1992 Revenue Act (1992), amendment 15:14

8) Robert Byrd (D-WV) June 9, 1964 Civil Rights Act (1964) 14:13

9) Rand Paul (R-KY) March 6, 2013 Confirmation of John Brennan as Director of the CIA 12:52

10) Chris Murphy (D-CT) June 15, 2016 Gun Violence 12:27+ (ongoing)