Dick Durbin: “I would like to thank the Senator from Connecticut, Mr. Murphy. You have been on the floor for a little over 3 hours in…”

“I would like to thank the Senator from Connecticut, Mr. Murphy. You have been on the floor for a little over 3 hours in the process of raising an important issue about gun violence in America. I think it is important for us from time to time to remind those who might be just joining this conversation why we are here. You are certainly a leader in this, as are Senator Blumenthal, Senator Booker, and so many others, because we have each in our own ways been touched by gun violence--the terrible tragedy that occurred at Sandy Hook in Connecticut, the tragedies we see every weekend and every day in the city of Chicago, in Newark, and all across the United States. I thank the Senator for bringing this to our attention. Certainly, it is Orlando that our attention is focused on these days. As I understood your earlier statement, you came to the floor because there was no indication from the Republican leadership that we will even have a debate on the issue of guns, terrorists, and keeping America safe. Senator Murphy came to the floor saying that he would hold the floor in the hopes that we can move this to the point where there is an actual debate in the Senate. That would be historic--a real debate in the Senate about an issue that really means something. In Orlando, we found what really means something with these grieving families of 49 victims and 53 more who were seriously injured.…”