As I was driving with my family to Washington D.C. this past June, I heard the news of another horrific mass shooting on the radio. News reports estimated there were over 100 victims in the latest mass shooting that occurred at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida. This immediately upset me and and I felt sick to my stomach. How could another mass shooting happen? When will the killing of innocent people end?

Over the past five years, there have been countless numbers of mass shootings across America, which included Sandy Hook, the Aurora Movie Theater, and San Bernardino, California. Congress has been unable to pass any gun reform legislation since these incidents occurred. Proposed legislation that has not been allowed onto the Senate floor for a vote that would include universal background checks, which would ensure mentally unstable individuals and those on terrorist watch lists not to be allowed to purchase or possess a firearm.

On June 12, 2016, the deadliest mass shooting of the 21st century occurred in this country when 49 innocent people lost their lives at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida. This shooting brought to light many controversial issues including terrorism, the radicalization of native born Muslim American citizens, and hate crimes targeting minority groups.

With these issues surrounding the Orlando shooting, Democrats on Capitol Hill came together to once again fight for common sense gun regulations. Three days after the Orlando shooting, Democratic Senator Chris Murphy from Connecticut began to speak on the Senate floor and would continue to do so until the Majority Party (the Republican Party) held a vote on gun control. Senator Murphy began a filibuster, a tactic rarely used in the Senate to halt or call a bill to a vote. A  Senator who has been recognized by the chair to speak can do so for eternity as long as he or she remains standing, does not leave the Senate chambers, and has to continually speak unless yielding to a colleague for a question.   

Senator Murphy had just been newly elected to the Senate after a gunman killed 26 people which included many young children at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. Senator Murphy has attempted and failed numerous times to get the Senate to vote on common sense gun reforms.  His frustration is due to Senate rules that allows the majority party to determine which bills will be considered for a vote.  With the help of other Democratic senators, Murphy began his filibuster to have a vote on two important gun reforms which included: prohibiting those on the federal terrorist watch lists from obtaining firearms, and mandating background checks for sales at gun shows and over the internet.

When Congress is in session, the public is allowed to visit and observe in the spectator galleries.  During our family visit to Washington D.C., we arrived home late from a day of sightseeing to see on the late news that Senator Murphy was conducting a filibuster on the Senate floor.  Although it was late, my father and I wanted to take a ride to the Capitol to experience it first hand. My father convinced my mother to give the okay for this once in a lifetime opportunity. My dad and I were not sure if there would be room in the Senate chambers to watch the filibuster. Fortunately, there was enough room for us and we were permitted to see the argument first hand. From 10:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m., my father and I sat in the chambers and became witnesses to Senator Murphy’s filibuster. By the time we got there, Senator Murphy had held the floor for over 12 hours. The only time Murphy was not speaking was when he yielded the floor for a lengthy question.  While I was attentively watching the floor, I noticed there were only a few Democratic senators in the Senate, and no Republican senators were present. Senator Cory Booker (Democrat from New Jersey) had been with Senator Murphy for most of the long and exhausting day.  At 2:11 a.m. in the early morning, Senator Murphy ended the filibuster, which lasted for 14 hours and 50 minutes. He ended his filibuster after Senate Republicans finally agreed to hold votes on universal background checks and terrorist watch list legislation. The following week, Republican senators rejected all of Senator Murphy’s gun reform bills.

Although no new gun laws were passed, it was amazing to see the passion of Senators Murphy and Booker that night, and to witness the beauty of our system at work. The spectators consisted of many different types of people, who would come and go to be part of history. I couldn’t help but think of one of my favorite movies, “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.”  Unfortunately, real life doesn’t have happy endings like the movies do.