Video of Chris Murphy's Speech Against Gun Violence Viewed Over 1 Million Times

Democrat Senator Chris Murphy has demanded more be done to combat gun violence as the U.S deals with its latest school shooting.

Murphy posted a clip of the speech he made on Tuesday to his Twitter page and it has since gone viral with over 1.5 million views. During the monologue, Murphy demanded Republicans not lecture people on "the sanctity of life" when it comes to issues of abortion if they refuse to take action after a school shooting.

A shooting at Oxford High School in Michigan on Tuesday resulted in three dead and eight others injured. Oakland's County Sheriff's Office has a 15-year-old suspect in custody.

The senator also posted a longer version of his speech to his YouTube channel, which can be viewed here.

Murphy captioned the video: "Driving home tonight, I thought about Republicans' floor speeches today on the 'sanctity of life.'

"And how this concern for 'life' apparently doesn't extend to the kids who were shot today in a school in Michigan. So I turned the car around, and went to the Senate floor."

In the speech, he said: "I understand that my Republican colleagues have very strong views on issues related to abortion.

"But I listened to my Republican colleagues come down here one after another today and talk about the sanctity of life.

"This is at the very moment that moms and dads of Michigan were being told that their kids weren't coming home because they were shot at school due to a country that has accepted gun violence due to Republicans' fealty to the gun lobby.

"Do not lecture us on the sanctity and importance of life when 100 people every single day are losing their lives to guns. When kids go to school fearful that they won't return home because a classmate will turn a gun on them when it is in our control whether this happens.

"You care about life? Then get these dangerous military-style weapons off the streets, out of schools.

"You care about life? Make sure that criminals don't get guns by making sure that everyone goes through a background check in this country."

"This only happens in the United States of America, there is no other nation in the high-income world in which kids worry about being shot when they go to school.

"It happens here in America because we choose to let it happen, we are not unlucky, this is purposeful and a choice made by the United States Senate to sit on our hands and do nothing while kids die."

Murphy added that he did not believe this was a necessarily divisive issue. He said the desire to have safer schools for our children was a desire felt by both supporters of the Republican and Democratic parties.

He said the idea that Republicans are concerned more about the gun industry than the safety of children was "infuriating."

He also claimed that they were giving off a "silent message of endorsement" to would-be killers and those whose minds are "spiraling out of control" by not doing anything after shooting tragedies.

He said: "Make no mistake about it, there is a silent message of endorsement sent to would-be killers, sent to individuals whose brains are spiraling out of control when the highest levels of the US Government does nothing shooting after shooting.

"Somewhere in these broken brains, they have convinced themselves that they can right perceived wrongs by firing a gun into a crowd.

"When Congress, the highest, most important, most powerful leaders in the land do nothing shooting after shooting you can understand why those broken brains imply that as endorsement."

Newsweek has contacted Murphy's office for comment.

Chris Murphy
U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) speaks during a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing to discuss the ongoing federal response to COVID-19 on May 11, 2021 in Washington, DC. Chris Murphy's speech on... Greg Nash-Pool/Getty Images

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Gerrard Kaonga is a Newsweek U.S. News Reporter and is based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on U.S. ... Read more

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