Sen. Chris Murphy on Monday accused Republicans who oppose his gun control policies of making a decision "to sell weapons to ISIS."
Senate leaders agreed to hold a vote on four gun-related amendments — two from Republicans, two from Democrats — following Murphy's talking filibuster last week. Murphy and other Democrats spent nearly 15 hours demanding that lawmakers vote to ban weapons sales to individuals whose names appear in national databases that he collectively dubbed the terror watch list.
"We've got to make this clear, constant case that Republicans have decided to sell weapons to ISIS," the Connecticut Democrat told the Washington Post on Monday.
"That's what they've decided to do. ISIS has decided that the assault weapon is the new airplane, and Republicans, in refusing to close the terror gap, refusing to pass bans on assault weapons, are allowing these weapons to get in the hands of potential lone-wolf attackers."
Republicans believe that the vast majority of the people named in those databases — there are about 11 different lists — are innocent and should not be deprived of their right to purchase a weapon without a fair trial.
"It is nothing less than political gamesmanship for them to try to shift for their favorite hobby horse of taking away the Bill of Rights from law-abiding citizens," Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said in a floor speech the day after Murphy's filibuster.
"Why did we see yesterday's series of speeches? Because Senate Democrats have an election coming up in November. And they don't want to talk about the real issue. Let's talk about ISIS. Let's talk about radical Islamic terrorism. Let's talk about the failures of the last seven years of this administration to keep this country safe."
During Murphy's filibuster, much of the Senate received a classified briefing on the Orlando, Fla., attack from FBI Director James Comey. Much of that conversation entailed an explanation of the various databases that the government keeps, as lawmakers wondered if it might be possible to tailor a weapons ban to the individuals perceived as being the most dangerous by the FBI.
"A lot of our members want to ensure that whatever is done creates due process for people," Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., told the Examiner.
















