How the gun 'filibuster' went down, and Sen. Sherrod Brown's role (video)

WASHINGTON -- Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy started it.

Then the majority of Senate Democrats, including Ohio's Sherrod Brown, took turns Wednesday and early Thursday, joining the "filibuster" to make their point clear: They want anyone who might be linked to terrorism to be denied the right to buy a gun.

Calls for stricter gun control are not unusual from Democrats, but last weekend's mass murder of 49 people, and the wounding of at least 53 others, at an Orlando nightclub has renewed the calls with fervor. The Florida gunman, 29-year-old Omar Mateen, claimed loyalty to ISIS and had been on the FBI's radar before, then fell off a terror watch list for a lack of evidence.

Under current law, even being on that list would not have provided grounds for a gun dealer to deny Mateen a firearms purchase. Democrats want to change that.

So they took to the Senate floor.

This was the gun "filibuster" that started Wednesday and ended early Thursday. Technically, a filibuster is a procedure used to talk, and talk, and talk some more on the Senate floor and delay consideration of a bill. If effective, the senator filibustering doesn't stop talking until the other side gives in and yanks the bill.

There was no specific gun bill up for a vote Wednesday, but Democrats led by Murphy -- whose state saw the murder of 20 children by a gunman at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012 -- want one. So they talked and talked until Senate Republican leaders agreed to consider one soon.

Odds of passage are still long:

Chances of a new gun bill passing are still not good. Gun-rights supporters say they fear that if the Democrats got their way, innocent people who were mistakenly put on a watch list could be denied their Second Amendment rights. Gun-control advocates counter that any watch-list law would provide a means for appeal.

After nearly 15 hours, Senate Democrats got agreement from Republican leaders to at least allow votes. This will probably take the form of attempted amendments to a spending bill. An amendment also may be offered to require background checks for online and gun-show firearms sales.

The massacre at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando could put pressure on more Republicans in this election year to join the Democrats. Ohio Republican U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, for example, could change his previous position, although that's far from certain.

The role of Sherrod Brown:

Brown talked.

Twice.

He first took the floor for 10 minutes at 5:22 p.m. Then he did it again at 9:41 p.m.

Among his remarks:

"How do we go home and look people in the eye and say we failed again? ... How do I go back to Cleveland and say, 'well, we tried it again. We didn't do it, it's not that big a deal if people can't fly on an airplane, they still ought to be able to get a gun.' How do we possibly look people in the eye and answer that question?"

Letters from home:

Brown also talked about hearing gunshots in his hometown of Cleveland, and he read letters from constituents.

From one of them:

"I am a gay man living in Toledo, Ohio, and I have never been to a pride event. This year was going to be my year, and I am scared...

"Why is that it's harder to obtain a driver's license than it is to buy a gun?  . . .  This shooting issue in our country is one that needs solved. It won't be solved by doing nothing."

From another, this one from a woman in Columbus:

I'm devastated by the events this weekend in Orlando. Frankly, I have had to personally be retriggered with every mass shooting that's occurred in the past three years -- in addition to any story of gun violence in general I come across.

"My tragedy occurred three years ago this July. The love of my life, best friend and man I was going to marry was murdered. . . . He was shot to death by a prior felon - with a gun.  . . .

"It can happen to anyone, anywhere, at anytime, for any reason - due to how today's society is set up.

"Change is needed now. We can't keep waiting.  . . . Please do something. Anything. Saving one person from feeling the hell I've felt these past three years is worth it. My heart hurts for the loved ones effected by this weekend, because I know this pain. It's a pain I wouldn't wish on anyone. Please help."

A group effort:

Who else talked among the chamber's Democrats?

The better question might be, who didn't? The list of Democratic talkers is 37-members long. A partial list: Murphy, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Cory Booker of New Jersey, Richard Durbin of Illinois, Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Ron Wyden of Oregon, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, Maria Cantwell of Washington, ....

Angus King, a Maine independent, joined in. So did a Republican, Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, although it's unclear whether Toomey will ultimately support a measure Democrats want.

The talking ended at 2:11 a.m.

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