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You Have To See These Eight Filibuster Memes

by Rosie Holden Vacanti Gilroy

Even after the deadliest mass shooting in United States history took place in Orlando last weekend, the Senate had no plans to discuss gun control legislation this week. That's why Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy decided to take it upon himself to make sure the issue was not ignored any longer by holding a filibuster. Beginning on Wednesday morning and lasting for nearly 15 hours, Senator Murphy's filibuster was eventually successful, as Senate Republicans agreed to hold a vote on gun control legislation, which would ban suspected terrorists from buying guns, within the next week.

As soon as Senator Murphy began the filibuster on Wednesday morning, he received an outpouring of support (and appreciation) for his action, and refusal to let Republicans ignore the need for gun control legislation any longer. Twitter too was soon filled with support for Senator Murphy and the filibuster. Below are eight of the best memes created to commemorate the event.

This one just about sums it up. Not too many legislators believe in an issue enough to stay at work until after 2 a.m. filibustering.

It's no wonder Senator Murphy felt he had to filibuster. These stats make the need for gun control in the United States irrefutable.

After many Republican lawmakers suggested that the best way to respond to the mass shooting in Orlando was through prayer, it's no wonder there was no scheduled vote on gun control legislation before Senator Murphy's filibuster. There's nothing wrong with prayer, but it should not be used as a substitute for political inaction.

Clearly, the NRA has changed drastically over the last century, and would help save the lives of countless Americans if it returned to its previous policies. Instead, the organization continues to be tied to the Republican Party. The NRA's fiscal support makes Republican lawmakers consistently fight gun control legislation.

Thankfully, we have lawmakers like Senator Murphy, who are willing to fight for gun control.

Again, many thanks out there for Senator Murphy.

And let's not forget all the other senators who took part in the filibuster. It was clearly hard for Republican lawmakers to deny even a vote when so many people were killed in Orlando last weekend.

No senator wants to filibuster, but Murphy knew it was the only way to get the Senate to agree to a vote. He did what he had to do, and America should be thankful.