Friends —

Yesterday, Senator John Cornyn decided to publicly declare our negotiations on a bill to expand background checks are over.

I’ve been negotiating with my Republican colleagues for months on a gun safety bill — primarily focused on increasing the number of sales that require background checks — but so far we have not been able to find a meaningful compromise. Expanding background checks is a common sense idea supported by roughly 90 percent of Americans that would save lives.

I am still in negotiations with other Republican colleagues to figure out if we can meaningfully move the needle on this issue. I’ll be the first to acknowledge that the rules of the Senate as they stand now — including the relic of the filibuster — make it extremely difficult.

But our movement is far more powerful than the gun lobby today. In 2013, after Sandy Hook, there was only a single Republican Senator who would work on background checks legislation. Today, I have multiple potential partners. This is a sign of our progress, but we need to keep it up. So I need your help to send a message that the American people are demanding change.

Can you make a $3 donation to support my efforts to change our gun laws and fight back against the NRA? Each donation helps up the pressure on my colleagues by making clear that we will not tolerate this broken status quo any longer.

Frankly, it's a little nuts that we need to be negotiating on a proposal that is supported by 90% of the American public. This is only a controversial issue in Congress.

I'm open to a compromise, but it's got to be good enough to save lives. And with bipartisan public opinion so overwhelmingly on our side, I just cannot settle for a bill that would only make superficial changes.

I am going to continue trying with my Republican colleagues who are still willing to come to the table and have a serious conversation about the gun violence epidemic in our country. I will not be one who walks away from the negotiating table so long as there is a chance of passing legislation that can save lives.

But soon enough, something has to give, and Senator Schumer has made it clear that we need to put up a background checks bill for a vote very soon.

As the rules stand now, I cannot promise that it will pass. It may be that this is another tick in the column that proves the filibuster is killing our democracy.

So we need you to help us show that there will be a price to pay for those who choose the gun lobby over the 90% of Americans who support background checks.

If you can, please consider making a $3 donation today to my campaign to support our work fighting to change our gun laws. Small-dollar donations help me stay focused on the important legislative work, like getting this bill to the floor, without worrying about our fundraising.

Thank you for all you do to support our movement. It is incredible that in just a few years we’ve built something that can go up against the NRA’s decades of entrenched power.

Every best wish,

Chris Murphy

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