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we'll be right back with senator richard blumenthal of connecticut and the mother of virginia tech student that was shot in that school's massacre six years ago this week. what was their reaction as the senate vote went down today? that's next. ♪ if you have high cholesterol, here's some information that may be worth looking into. in a clinical trial versus lipitor, crestor got more high-risk patients' bad cholesterol to a goal of under 100. getting to goal is important, especially if you have high cholesterol plus any of these risk factors because you could be at increased risk for plaque buildup in your arteries over time. and that's why when diet and exercise alone aren't enough to lower cholesterol i prescribe crestor. [ female announcer ] crestor is not right for everyone. like people with liver disease or women who are nursing, pregnant or may become pregnant. tell your doctor about other medicines you're taking. call your doctor right away if you have muscle pain or weakness, feel unusually tired, have loss of appetite, upper belly pain, dark urine or yellowing of skin or eyes. th

nbc news foreign correspondent, ayman mohyeldin, and connecticut senator, richard blumenthal. senator, i'll ask you to stand by for one second while we check in with kristen and ayman. kristen, let's begin with the political calculations that go into what the white house is looking for, especially when the administration is receiving pressure from the rights about what it would mean if syria has, indeed, used chemical weapons on its open people. >> reporter: well, thomas, right now the administration essentially trying to buy some time, because there aren't any good options when it comes to syria. putting troops on the ground could cost thousands of american lives, arming the rebels is difficult, because it's not quite clear who the opposition forces are. a no-fly zone, also tricky. so the united states really trying to carve out some more time, but also making the point that they want to be 100% certain of this latest intelligence, which suggests that syria has used chemical weapons. they say there are still questions about the origin of those chemical weapons, and they point

just about 20 minutes we're going to talk to the connecticut senator, richard blumenthal about federal gun control efforts. >>> new developments this morning in the ever-increasing tensions between north and south korea. the north announcing in just the last couple of hours that it is pulling all of its workers out of the kaesong industrial complex that it shares with the south. cnn's jim clancy is live for us in seoul, south kia this morning. good morning, jim. >> good morning, john. shut it down. that's the message from north korea. a lot of people thought kim jong-un wouldn't go this far, wouldn't take this move. he's going to pull out his 53,000 workers from there. that means about 1,000 south koreans will also be forced to leave and 123 companies will cease doing business in what was the only symbol of cooperation between north and south for many years. it is, however, a situation where north korea has hedged its bets, saying that this was a temporary suspension of the operations there. it's going to recover those. the blame went on the u.s. the blame went on south korea for impug

senator richard blumenthal of connecticut joins us. senator, thanks for joining us. >> thank you, jake. >> senator, i wanted to ask you about this emphasis on so-called assault weapons, these types of semiautomatic rifles being banned in connecticut and then also a push to do the same on a federal level. according to a university of pennsylvania study, assault weapons are only used in 2% to 8% of gun crimes. mostly it's handguns. so can you explain why the emphasis legislatively on assault weapons? >> there's an emphasis on assault weapons because of mass killings that involve assault weapons, the ar-15 in newtown, but also because of the high-capacity magazines which are also involved in the effort that we are under taking to bring that amendment to the floor as part of the effort to control violence in this country, gun violence. keep in mind that this bill also goes against illegal trafficking and straw purchases, school safe city is an objective as well as our mental health initiatives and of course a national criminal background c

. >> joining me now, one of the senators at that armed services committee hearing, senator richard blumenthal and the huffington post. we couldn't get an answer given air traffic controllers were told to stay home. are fbi agents going to be told to stay home? are u.s. assistant attorneys going to be told to stay home at some point? can you guide us in that? >> in his remarks, lawrence, director clapper made remarks about intelligence agents that may be given shorter hours or even furloughs, and the same, conceivably, very probably is true of prosecutors and fbi agents, although we have no confirmation of it. obviously, these impacts are the least visible. the most visible are the impacts on air travel. 4700 delays and 273 cancellations today alone, and then the less visible impacts on health care and headstart, meals on wheels for seniors, other kinds of service programs, including research for cancer, in effect, undermining what we can discover and cure for the future. >> it seems like nothing has gotten washington's attention to these sequester cuts more than what we're seeing in the air t

blumenthal. as we get down to the macro local, there is this gun bill that bans large capacity magazines in connecticut, extends the connecticut assault weapons bans and a registry for dangerous weapon offenders. however, it's going to grandfather in the people who already have the large capacity magazines. do you think it's going to defeat the purpose of what connecticut's bill would do for the rest of the country? >> connecticut's bill, the ban on high capacity magazines, as well as extending and specifying more completely the ban on assault weapons i think provides very strong encouragement and momentum going into these next few weeks in washington, d.c. but the point is that no single state can do it alone. the assault weapon ban in connecticut and the prohibition against high-capacity magazines simply is unable to prevent guns from being trafficked illegally across our borders. we really need federal legislation to prohibit straw purchases and illegal trafficking. >> that's when we get to th

. >> let me bring in senator richard blumenthal who was with the newtown families today on the hill. thank you for joining us today. >> to kelly's point, you have some republicans who voted to have the debate continue but may ultimately in the end not support this legislation. one of them may be senator bob cork he, republican from tennessee. i want to read what he said following the proceedings. he said i don't understand why any senator would not want to debate these issues but in the end, i will not support any legislation that violates our second amendment rights. what is your reaction to as kelly pointed out, a few more republicans than first believed, getting on board for a debate on this bill. >> i'm going to be talking to my friends like bob corker and making the case as strongly and persuasively as possible that there is nothing, absolutely nothing in this bill that even comes close to violating second amendment rights. we're not taking away anyone's guns. we're not bridging anyone's right to hunt or target shoot. and the united states supreme court says that everyone has a

. >>> from capitol hill now, i want to bring in democratic senator richard blumenthal of connecticut. good afternoon, sir. >> good afternoon, martin. >> you've just met with the families of newtown victims. what's their response to those of your colleagues across the aisle trying to prevent a vote, even a discussion, on these gun reforms? what's the reaction of those families? >> the reaction of the families is no different than the reactions of, my guess is, the overwhelming majority of americans that they are aghast and angry that a small group of senators would block an overwhelming majority. not only an overwhelming majority of senators who want a vote, but also americans who want common sense measures to control gun violence and stop the kind of mass killing that so deeply and horribly affected their lives. the unspeakable and unimaginable tragedy that they suffered, they are giving voice and face to as they go around capitol hill talking to my colleagues, senators who know in their hearts what the right thing to do is. and they simply have to stand up to the special interests an

. >> now we're joined by senator richard blumenthal a democrat from connecticut. he joins frus the senate. there were members from newtown in the gallery today as this vote happened. what was the reaction? >> today was heartbreaking for me, really sad and shocking, but the hardest part was to explain to the families how 90% of the americans could be in favor of background checks, and the senate failed to reach the necessary 60 votes. and their reaction was absolutely inspiring as one of them said to me when i said, we're coming back." she said to me, "it's not even close. we're coming back. not even close." >> ifill: what does that mean "coming back." after you failed to get the 60 votes necessary, on not only this but on a number of other piece of gun control legislation today, what does coming back look like? >> coming back looks like persuading colleagues that the american people are not just in favor of background checks, illegal trafficking bans, and stronger school safety measures, along with a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, but the amer

joining me now, connecticut democratic senator richard blumenthal, and joy reid. senator blumenthal, you know what happened in sandy hook was a result of those high-capacity magazines. >> absolutely right, lawrence. and by the way, the killer at home had both low-capacity magazines and high-capacity magazines. he took with him the 30-round magazines. because he wanted to kill -- more people. >> who could you ask for about what high-capacity magazines mean to mass murderers. >> there is even more proof which is that when he had to change magazines, children actually escaped from the classroom. 6 to 11 children really escaped because he had -- or chose to change magazines. so there is no question that as you put it so well, these magazines make these mass killings more murderous. they don't necessarily cause them or compel them. they make them more lethal. and the same is true of assault weapons. he had both shotguns and assault weapons. he chose the assault weapon, because he knew he could fire and kill more people, more rapidly, more lethally. and that's why we ar

. >> now we're joined by senator richard blumenthal a democrat from connecticut. he joins frus the senate. there were members from newtown in the glery today as this vote happened. what was the reaction? >> today was heartbreaking for me, really sad and shocking, but the hardest part was to explain to the families how 90% of the americans could be in favor of background checks, and the senate failed to reach the necessary 60 votes. and their reaction was absolutely inspiring as one of them said to me when i said, we're coming back." she said to me, "it's not even close. we're coming back. not even close." >> ifill: wt do that mean "coming back." after you failed to get the 60 votes necessary, on not only this but on a number of other piece of gun control legislation today, what does coming back look like? >> coming back looks like persuading colleagues that the american people are not just in favor of background checks, illegal trafficking bans, and stronger school safety measures, along with a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, but the american p

. >> now we're joined by senator richard blumenthal a democrat from connecticut. he joins frus the senate. there were members from newtown in the gallery today as this vote happened. what was the reaction? >> today was heartbreaking for me, really sad and shocking, but the hardest part was to explain to the families how 90% of the americans could be in favor of background checks, and the senate failed to reach the necessary 60 votes. and their reaction was absolutely inspiring as one of them said to me when i said, we're coming back." she said to me, "it's not even close. we're coming back. ven close." >> ifill: what does that mean "coming back." after you failed to get the 60 votes necessary, on not only this but on a number of other piece of gun control legislation today, what does coming back look like? >> coming back looks like persuading colleagues that the american people are not just in favor of background checks, illegal trafficking bans, and stronger school safety measures, along with a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, but the american

senator richard blumenthal, democrat, connecticut, is using sandy hook to raise money in his e-mails. they're trying to turn the newtown parents into a dozen cindy sheehans in a way. and it's what the democrats do, folks. they always try to hide their agendas behind women and children and most of all, victims. and so the newtown parents are human shields, in a sense. the newtown parents are out there to protect the democrats from any criticism and to shut it down. >> i like the way he does this. didn't you notice as a woman, he's assuming that men are putting you people up? >> oh, i know. >> you don't look put up to me. >> and i mean, certainly with these families, this is what they want to do. they talk about wanting to be in this conversation to carry on the legacies of their dead 6 and 7-year-olds who they'll never see again. >> nobody put cindy sheehan up to anything. cindy sheehan lost her son to the war. >> people came around to feeling the exact same thing, cindy sheehan about that war. it looks like these families have a similar affect. and they are a clarifying, i think, pres

blumenthal, democrat, connecticut, using sandy hook to raise money in his e-mails. they're trying 0 to turn the newtown parents into a dozen cindy sheehans. in a way. and this is what the democrats do, folks. they always try to hide their agendas behind women and children and, most of all, victims. and so the newtown parents are human shields in a sense. the newtown parents are 0 out there to protect the democrats from any criticism and to shut it down. >> i like the way he does this, pia. he's assuming that men are putting you people up, as a woman. you don't look put up to me. >> certainly with these families. this is what they want to do. they talk about wanting to be in this conversation to carry on the legacies of their dead 6 and 7-year-olds who they'll never see again. >> by the way, nobody put cindy sheehan up to anything. she lost her son to the war. >> and people came around to feeling the exact same thing about that war, and it looks like these families have a similar effect and they are clarifying, i think, voice and they are reminding us why we are here

democratic senator richard blumenthal of connecticut said today this is the saddest day of his years in public life. >> pelley: chip, thank you very much. a short time ago, mr. obama brought some of the newtown families and gabrielle giffords into the rose garden at the white house. major garrett was there. major? >> reporter: scott, somber and frustrated, president obama said the gun control debate will not end because the senate could not muster 60 votes for expanded background checks. he stood, as you said, with some of the sandy hook families. mark barden, who lost his son daniel in that mass shooting, spoke first and said washington has not heard the last of this issue. >> we'll return home now disappointed but not defeated. we return home with a determination that change will happen. maybe not today, but it will happen. it will happen soon. we've always known this would be a long road, and we don't have the luxury of turning back. we will keep moving forward and build public support for common- sense solutions in the areas of mental health, school safety and gun safety. >> repo

senator richard blumenthal supported ending furloughs for air traffic controllers. he joins me live now. good to see you. let's start with the president's criticism. what do you make of that, this idea that members of congress were motivated, in part at least, motivated by the fact that they have to go home every weekend and most of them fly commercially? >> this effort actually, craig, began weeks ago when i offered an amendment with senator moran, republican of kansas, very bipartisan effort, tens of senators joined us in trying to stop the kinds of delays at the airport that have economic imp plic care cost and convenience, but also endanger economic recovery because they are essential to jobs, but the president is absolutely right that we need a broader solution to the sequester, which is an arbitrary slashing across-the-board cut affecting seniors who need meals on wheels, kids who need head start. >> why not focus on meals on wheels? why not focus on head start? >> my hope is that we will when we come back. in fact, we did before we left town, the majority lea

that from the connecticut democratic senator richard blumenthal after some potentially sweeping changes to in the in nation's gun laws past their first test in senate. the senate cleared the way for a debate on a major gun control bill. it's what is known as cloture vote. the senate bill would expand background checks, crack down on gun trafficking and authorizing a prom for school safety. senator mitch mcconnell argued it would not help to keep firearms out of the hands of criminals. >> this will ultimately pun injury harass our neighbors and friends and family,. >> shepard: many others point to recent polls which show a vast majority of americans do indeed support stronger background checks. families of some of the sandy hook victims watched from the gallery. one sister says the bill does not go far, especially banning assault rifles. >> they leave baseball size holes in somebody's skin. this is not okay. >> shepard: she went on to say that talking to family and friends of the victims likely helped awake summon senators. mike is live on capitol hill. anybody claiming victory? >> not e

meanwhile, critics blast democratic senator, richard blumenthal of connecticut, after thrfs a fundraising e-mail references sandy hook asking supporters to, quote, please contribute $5 now as they debate on common sense gun legislation this week. no comment when asked if it was insensitive in his judgment. fox's "american idol" continues to reign at the top, almost 13 million viewers tunedded in last night to watch the only remaining male con contestant gt sent home. first time in the show's long history, the final five are women. by the way, idolfuls the number one show on television last night. it's been the number one show on wednesday evenings, season to date, averaging 16 million viewers. you wouldn't know that, would you? reading some of the, well, trade nonsense. up next, the advertising industry's gone viral. how the internet is transforming the way some companies advertise and improving their bottom line at the same time. next. next. copd makes it hard to breathe... but with advair, i'm breathing better. so now i can help make this a great block party. ♪ [ male announce ] advai

meanwhile, critics last democratic senator, richard blumenthal of connecticut, after thrfs a fundraising e-mail references sandy hook asking supporters to, quote, please contribute $5 now as they debate on common sense gun legislation this week. no comment when asked if it was insensitive in his judgment. fox's "american idol" continues to reign at the top, almost 13 million viewers tunedded in last night to watch the only remaining male con contestant gt sent home. first time in the show's long history, the final five are women. by the way, idolfuls the number one show on television last night. it's been the number one show on wednesday evenings, season to date, averaging 16 million viewers. you wouldn't know that, would you? reading some of the, well, trade nonsense. up next, the advertising industry's gone viral. how the internet is transforming the way some companies advertise and improving their bottom line at the same time. next. this is america. we don't let frequent heartburn come between us and what we love. so if you're one of them people who gets heartburn and then treats day

meanwhile, critics blast democratic senator, richard blumenthal of connecticut, after thrfs a fundraising e-mail references sandy hook asking supporters to, quote, please contribute $5 now as they debate on common sense gun legislation this week. no comment when asked if it was insensitive in his judgment. fox's "american idol" continues to reign at the top, almost 13 million viewers tunedded in last night to watch the only remaining male con contestant gt sent home. first time in the show's long history, the final five are women. by the way, idolfuls the number one show on television last night. it's been the number one show on wednesday evenings, season to date, averaging 16 million viewers. you wouldn't know that, would you? reading some of the, well, trade nonsense. up next, the advertising industry's gone viral. how the internet is transforming the way some companies advertise and improving their bottom line at the same time. next. ♪ [ male announcer ] in your lifetime, you will lose 3 sets of keys 4 cell phones 7 socks and 6 weeks of sleep but one thing you don't want to lose is a

. >>> connecticut senator richard blumenthal will be among those listening to the president's speech at university of hartford. he will join us later at 7:30 p.m. eastern. >>> rick warren's church grieving with the pastor over the suicide of his younger son. 25-year-old matthew warren apparently shot himself over the weekend after a struggle with depression. the sermon on sunday at the saddleback church was called "surviving tough times." it was planned before matthew's death. >>> boaters from key west fr, flori florida, are asked to be looking out for a sailboat that may have two young boys. a father broke into the house and took the two young boys. >>> it sounds like science fiction, but nasa has plans to capture an asteroid and place it in orbit around the moon. florida senator bill nelson says the mission is part of president obama's new budget plan. nasa would first catch the asteroid with a robotic spacecraft, and then tow it back towards earth. this is real. it would be placed in a stable orbit around the moon. nelson says the asteroid could be used for research, mining, devel

joining me now is democratic senator richard blumenthal from connecticut. max baucus of montana will not run for reelection and he is one who voted against the measure. a liberal group had vowed to target him and others, mark prior of arkansas who voted against the measure. all face reelection in 2014. what do you think of the decision of baucus not to rerun? >> a surprise and a loss to the senate. he is a key figure in tax reform as well as a variety of other measures and extraordinary distinguished career and a decision probably based on family decision and larger career goals and the desire to focus on areas like taxes and other issues. >> as a connecticut senator does that anger you knowing he could have voted yes knowing ahead oft that vote that he was probably not running for reelection and could have helped effort what would have been something, a major positive reform for gun measures? >> what frustrates, disappoints and angers me is the fact that we had 55 votes in the united states senate as well as 90% of the american people and the vast majority

joining me are senators richard blumenthal and chris murphy. i think we should read out the names of the senators who signed up for the filibuster. mitch mcconnell, rand paul, cruz, rubio, inhofe, moran, burr, johnson, enzi, crapo and senator roberts. shame on all of you. i find it completely outrageous that over something as important as this, these characters would sign up to basically refuse to allow a vote. what is your reaction as to this letter? >> my reaction is the american people are going to be very aghast and deeply angry if a handful, small group of united states senators block a vote. the president has said that the newtown victims as well as the victims of aurora and of virginia tech and columbine deserve a vote. and so do the american people. and i'm confident that if there is a vote, we will be on the right side of history. obviously the ban on illegal trafficking, strengthening school safety as well as a national criminal background check are essential, and senator murphy and i are going to be championing a ban on high capacity

senator richard blumenthal, democrat, connecticut, is using sandy hook to raise money in his e-mails. they're trying to turn the newtown parents into a dozen cindy sheehans in a way. and it's what the democrats do, folks. they always try to hide their agendas behind women and children and most of all, victims. and so the newtown parents are human shields, in a sense. the newtown parents are out there to protect the democrats from any criticism and to shut it down. >> i like the way he does this. didn't you notice as a woman, he's assuming that men are putting you people up? >> oh, i know. >> you don't look put up to me. >> and i mean, certainly with these namefamilies, this is wha they want to do. they talk about wanting to be in this conversation to carry on the legacies of their dead 6 and 7-year-olds who they'll never see again. >> nobody put cindy sheehan up to anything. >> people came around to feeling the exact same thing, cindy sheehan about that war. it looks like these families have a similar affect. and they are a clarifying, i think, presence and voice and remind us why we

senator richard blumenthal, democrat, connecticut, is using sandy hook to raise money in his e-mails. they're trying to turn the newtown parents into a dozen cindy sheehans in a way. and it's what the democrats do, folks. they always try to hide their agendas behind women and children and most of all, victims. and so the newtown parents are human shields, in a sense. the newtown parents are out there to protect the democrats from any criticism and to shut it down. >> i like the way he does this. didn't you notice as a woman, he's assuming that men are putting you people up? >> oh, i know. >> you don't look put up to me. >> and i mean, certainly with these families, this is what they want to do. they talk about wanting to be in this conversation to carry on the legacies of their dead 6 and 7-year-olds who they'll never see again. >> nobody put cindy sheehan up to anything. >> people came around to feeling the exact same thing, cindy sheehan about that war. it looks like these families have a similar affect. and they are a clarifying, i think, presence and voice and remind us why we are

nbc news foreign correspondent, ayman mohyeldin, and connecticut senator, richard blumenthal. senator, i'll ask you to stand

those senators including mark warner, mark begich, kay hagan claire mccaskill richard blumenthal from connect and jay rockefeller. one more, bob casey from pennsylvania. very significant because casey is no flaming liberal. i like him. but he's a pro-life democrat from pennsylvania. not exactly the most liberal of states. but he has said again he has evolved on the issue like president obama did. like hillary clinton has done. from being for civil unions only to full-fledged marriage equality in support of same-sex marriage. bob casey making that announcement yesterday. and if you're keeping score and we are that means there are eight democrats left. only one republican senator by the way and we talked about him rob portman from ohio because he admits, because his son came out to him as a gay man he started to rethink this issue and has seen the light. no other republican has done but there are all but eight senators, democratic senators now support same-sex marriage and i want you to know who they are so you can give them a little tap maybe a little pressure. joe manchin, west virgin

look at this from "new york daily news," -- you can see the connecticut senator richard blumenthal embracing someone who lost children at the new town and school shooting -- at the newtown school shooting. other stories relating to gun legislation are in the newspapers today -- here is what a senator from that state says -- and "the washington times" has this headline this morning -- a couple of other stories, president obama tells donors about the tough politics on the environment. the new york times reports that the president was at the home of an outspoken critic of the keystone xl pipeline. on sunday 149 air-traffic control towers are slated to close. the governor of -- andd and congressmen the house's minority whip trent this in "the baltimore sun." we have been talking about the headlines in the paper, including this one in "the new york times." social programs are facing a cut back under president obama's budget. last caller on this topic in the spurt, virginia. -- in leesburg virginia. caller: those calling and saying we should pay into payroll tax -- that is nonsense. it is a pay-as

i know, jake, you sat down with connecticut democratic senator richard blumenthal. what he did say to you about the nra's efforts to thwart this legislation? >> we played some sound from his governor, malloy, who was on candy crowley's show, yesterday. state of union. and asked as malloy said, wayne lapierre, the executive director of the nra, is like a clown. this is what senator blumenthal had to say in response. >> you know, we have a historic opportunity to break the stranglehold that the special interests, like the nra, have had over legislative consideration of gun safety. and i believe that we can and will break that stranglehold because the nra has lost a lot of its credibility. it wants actually -- >> you may say it lost credibility, but it gains at least a half million members since the newtown shooting. >> and many of those members now support, for example, background checks. >> and it is true, of course, brooke, that polling indicates substantial significant support for background checks, among not only the public in general, but also gun owners, but rig

we heard senator richard blumenthal, democrat of connecticut, talk about the newtown shooting victims yesterday on the senate floor. it's take a listen. [video clip] the world has watched newtown, and the families of newtown, and it has watched connecticut. now the world is watching the united states senate. it is watching the senate to see whether mockers he works. democracy works. to reflectacy work the majority of the united states of america, the majority of our people, who say, we need to do something about the guns? that is what the families said to me that day and in days since and what people in connecticut and across the country have said to their senators. we must do something about gun violence. i remember talking to one of the families that evening and saying, you know, when you are ready, we ought to talk about what we can do to stop gun violence in measures in the united states congress. she said to me, i am ready now. the united states senate must be ready now to act. it must keep faith with those families and victims as the , with benjamin andrew wheeler, age six, his

bill: back to the point about money, jerry moran, republican from kansas, richard blumenthal, democrat out of connecticut, they argue you could take $50 million immediately in unused faa research and capital fund and prevent the air traffic controllers from closing. that is how you avert the thing immediately. >> easy to say that. i'm not counting the beans. i'm sure the faa is not making a gratuitous decision to hurt people sitting on tarmac. i assume they know what they're doing and not doing it with some kind of conspiracy with the white house to hurt travelers. >> part of the executive branch of government. the president, president obama runs the executive branch. >> he doesn't run the faa or every part of the government. >> they could do this in an afternoon, alan. >> go fix it. you know where the beans are being counted. ridiculous. bill: we'll see who cries uncle first in this. thank you, alan. thank you, tucker. see you both soon. >> thank you. martha: we've got some news, breaking right now. five people are dead and one person is injured. there is a shooting situation in manch

one of the newtown parent, after meeting with connecticut's richard blumenthal. gloria borger is our chief political analyst, and, gloria, this isn't the first time the president obama seemed to have the public behind him. here he is running head first into congressional republicans. we have seen this movie before. >> yes, we have. and what he's doing, brooke, what you saw the vice president doing is really taking this issue of guns to the american public. they know that overall at least nine out of ten americans believe that you should have some kind of expanded background check on guns. so they believe the public is with them and what they're trying to do is point out what they consider to be and is an apparent discan connect between what lots of voters want and what some republicans say is really overreach, and affects the second amendment. and leads to the taking away of your guns. and, you know, you just saw a really impassioned joe biden, who has been working on this issue nonstop. you saw the president yesterday, so, you know, this is really very much -- n

blumenthal. senator blumenthal spoke about the victims of the sandy hook elementary schools students and their families. >> mr. president earlier this week i spoke about the need for the senate to consider legislation to help increase america's safety by reducing gun violence. i came on the floor of the senate and i urged my fellow senators to expand efforts to filibuster a proceeding to this bill. the senate to not -- should not have to overcome a filibuster to respond to the call for action in response to gun violence they are experiencing. mr. president i have the privilege of being a long serving member of this body and i have watched debate on so many issues. if there is ever an issue all 100 of us should vote yes or no, it's here. i was encouraged by the comments of a number of senate republicans that they are prepared to debate this matter and will not support this wrongheaded filibuster. even "the wall street journal" editorialized the filibuster yesterday. the lead editorial entitled gop

blumenthal, a senator from the state of connecticut, to perform the duties of the chair. signed: patrick j. leahy, president pro tempore. mr. reid:, i appreciate the chaplain's prayer, but i especially want to recognize the last line or two of his prayer today where he indicated that he wanted a special blessing on the capitol police. i'm happy that the sergeant at arse was here when the -- the sergeant-at-arms was here when the prayer was being given, because the chairperson i chapl. every day the capitol police protect us -- that is, senators and staff, but also the millions of visit visitors who come in ts massive complex every year. we see them standing there at guard watching the doors, and we need to do that because just a few years ago we had some madman crash through the house side and kill two police officers. we've seen that things have gotten more difficult since then. we have people standing with automatic weapons. we have bomb squads. we have these dogs that do -- work with us so well. we have people who are on bicycles. but i -- with the appropriations proce

they are in alphabetical order, richard blumenthal, senators boxer, cardin, carper, collins, durbin, franken, gillibrand, harkin, hirono, klobuchar, lautenberg, levin, menendez, mikulski, murphy, murray, reid, rockefeller, schatz, warren and whitehouse. i am very grateful for your and for their willingness to step up, show courage, and do what's right for america. mr. president, there are all kinds of issues that we confront as members of this great are senate. there are issues of national security, the economy, health care, immigration, all tough issues. people often ask me why i care so much about assault weapons, why i have stayed with this issue for more than 20 years now? the answer is this: in my view, the proliferation of this specific type of weapon goes to the heart of what kind of society in which we want to live. it goes to what kind of culture we're going to raise our children in. and that, mr. pres, brings us to the horrific massacre at newtown, connecticut, four months ago. sandy hook -- and a lot has been said about it, but i can't forget it. sandy hook was a safe scho

you know, we talked about in connecticut they just got gun control done in a bipartisan way senator richard blumenthal yesterday talking about national -- >> the congress of the united states listens to its conscience. and to its constituents. it will pass gun safety measures this week. >> stephanie: this just in from hot brie. our friend, melissa fitzgerald. you made that sound, thank you. by the way if her nephew loves you from lab rats heard the lizard story right now forget it. will you need security. -- you will need security. >> all of the kids follow me on instagram. they know about the lizard now. >> stephanie: oh dear god. we need to hire extra security for chicago now. great. >> going to bring the lizard to chicago? >> bagful of lizards. >> stephanie: people like this out of pennsylvania, her home state of pennsylvania, two leading local democrats say pennsylvania's conservative senator pat toomey is supportive to gun legislation. michael nutter were out there supporting -- gun legislation. toomey from the nra along with joe manchin rendell said that they understand no reasonable

blumenthal, democrat from connecticut, and a ban of certain types of assault weapons opposed by senator dianne feinstein. as far as republicans who are thinking about voting yes on this motion to proceed, senator kelly ayotte, republican from the hampshire said on msnbc on tuesday, as he does not support pillow the start of this. senator johnny isakson from georgia said although it is still unclear what will be on the bill i think it deserves a vote up or down. and it goes on to say that reid may not have all of the democratic votes, either. senator frank lao umberger, democrat from new jersey is ill and will not vote at least you have a leading democrats not said whether they will support the efforts to move this gun legislation on thursday. and then from those advocating a filibuster, here are some quotes in "the new york times." the republicans let, is what they say. this is from rand paul -- and also, rob portman, republican oh -- in ohio was at the political breakfast yesterday. he said if it was an infringement on second merit -- second amendment rights he would want to block it.

. >> senators jerry moran of kansas and richard blumenthal of connecticut today called on the federal aviation administration to post tone for two months the closure of air traffic control towers and furlough of its employees due to the automatic sequestration cuts. they introduced legislation earlier this month to prohibit the f.a.a. from closing 149 f.a.a. contract control towers due to the furloughing of its air traffic controllers. senator moran is a member of the appropriation subcommittee on transportation. senator blumenthal a member of the transportation committee which both oversee the f.a.a., this is 20 minutes. >> good morning, everyone. thank you very much for joining us on a topic we have been engaged in for a very long time. as you may recall, we made an effort in the continuing resolution to make certain that the issue of air traffic control towers was addressed. the administration had announced the closing of more than 140 towers. we believe, i believe that that's contrary to public safety, and i certainly believe it's unnecessary for the administration to take the pos