Senator Chris Murphy Ends His 15-Hour Filibuster With Powerful Tribute to Sandy Hook Victims

The discussion about gun control in the United States has been at an all-time high since the Orlando massacre last Sunday.

On Wednesday, Democrats took to the Senate floor and started a 15-hour filibuster, demanding Congress to take action and address the gun problem in the nation. Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy pioneered the filibuster, which eventually ended with Republicans agreeing to vote on two proposed gun laws.

“I’ve had enough,” Murphy said during the filibuster. “I’ve had enough of the ongoing slaughter of innocents, and I’ve had enough of inaction in this body.”

The filibuster officially took 14 hours and 50 minutes, yet the most touching moments took place in Murphy’s closing words when he spoke about Dylan Hockley and Anne Marie Murphy. Both Hockley and Marie Murphy were killed in the Sandy Hook shooting in 2012.

Murphy stood next to a picture of the 6-year-old and described him as “impossible not to fall in love with.” Murphy continued to speak about the special “deep, deep bond” Hockley had with Marie Murphy, his special education teacher. Senator Murphy then shared the most courageous story about Marie Murphy who died while trying to protect the little boy.

Murphy explained that instead of running from the gunman, Marie Murphy choose to embrace Hockley in their final moment calling it “the most courageous decision any of us could imagine.”

“You know why we know that?” he said. “Because when the police entered the classroom, that’s how they found Dylan Hockley. Dead. Wrapped in the embrace of Anne Marie Murphy.”

“It doesn’t take courage to stand here on the floor of the U.S. Senate… It takes courage to look into the eye of a shooter and instead of running, wrapping your arms around a 6-year-old boy and accepting death,” Murphy shared. “If Anne Marie Murphy could do that then ask yourself — what can you do to make sure that Orlando or Sandy Hook never, ever happens again?”

Murphy’s final statement got the reaction he was hoping for and got the Senate to schedule a vote.

I am proud to announce that after 14+ hours on the floor, we will have a vote on closing the terror gap & universal background checks

— Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) June 16, 2016

According to NBC News, the vote will be “whether to ban people on the government’s terrorist watch list (a controversial prospect, given the heated debate about that list) from obtaining gun licenses and whether to expand background checks to gun shows and internet sales.”

Watch the powerful closing remarks below.