Early this morning, U.S. Senate Democrats achieved something that, by the current standards of the nation's gun debate, counts as a major victory: They forced a vote on gun-control legislation.
Spurred by Sunday's mass shooting that killed 49 people in Orlando, Fla., the Senate Democrats took to the floor Wednesday morning for what would become a nearly 15-hour filibuster. The goal: stop Senate Republicans from removing gun-control provisions that were tacked on two unrelated spending bills.
Helmed by Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, the filibuster featured the speeches of at least 40 senators.
Among the voices of the filibuster were Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) and Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon).
Wyden called upon the Senate to close multiple loopholes in the nation's gun laws and to "close the pipeline for illegal guns."
Here's the video of Wyden's speech.
Merkley gave two speeches. Here's the transcript of the second, which occurred late Wednesday night.
Here's the full transcript of Wyden's speech.
Willamette Week