An almost 15-hour Democratic filibuster on the U.S. Senate floor Wednesday night ended with Republicans agreeing to hold votes on a pair of proposals to increase restrictions on gun sales, according to NBC News.
The filibuster, led by Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Connecticut), started Wednesday afternoon.
Democrats want the senate to vote on proposals expanding background checks to gun show and online firearm sales, and ban people on the U.S. Government’s terrorist watch list from obtaining gun licenses.
“To a certain extent, politics has always been about spectacle,” said UW-Milwaukee professor Mordecai Lee of the filibuster.
But Lee, a former Democratic state lawmaker, said he doesn’t anticipate the filibuster will sway many voters.
“The issue of gun control is one of those many issues that has very little middle ground,” Lee said
“Gun control is an emotional issue both for people who react to these violent incidents and those who fervently believe in their second amendment rights,” he said.
Erica Glatting, of Milwaukee, said she supports stronger gun laws in the wake of last weekend’s mass shooting at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando.
“I think it’s too easy for people to get guns – the wrong people to get guns,” she said.
Muhammad Hamza said he agrees.
“It shouldn’t take a mass shooting to get us to talk about these issues,” Hamza said.
Hamza said he’s noticed more of his friends discussing and debating gun regulations following the shooting in Florida.
“Social media has been blowing up,” Hamza said. “That’s been a driving factor in people talking about this.”
But Lee said it remains to be seen if voters continue to feel strongly about issues like gun control and terrorism through November’s general election.
“The way it feels right now is that the issues of guns, and terrorism, would be issues number one and two for the election in November,” Lee said. “But in politics, four to five months is an eternity.”
