--- title: Gun Control: Senate Democrats Introduce New Legislation description: Senate Democrats will begin a push Thursday for new gun control legislation in the wake of the deadly Oregon shooting. canonical: https://time.com/4066111/senate-democrats-gun-control/ author: Tessa Berenson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-10-08T12:57:38.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T11:37:57.292Z article:section: Politics og:title: Senate Democrats Introduce Gun Control Legislation og:description: Senate Democrats will begin a push Thursday for new gun control legislation in the wake of the deadly Oregon shooting. og:url: https://time.com/4066111/senate-democrats-gun-control/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7bea6f0a71f1559d/6988676a5f570f056fb1dc2a/richard-blumenthal.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: Iran Policy Oversight Act og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Senate Democrats Introduce Gun Control Legislation twitter:description: Senate Democrats will begin a push Thursday for new gun control legislation in the wake of the deadly Oregon shooting. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7bea6f0a71f1559d/6988676a5f570f056fb1dc2a/richard-blumenthal.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Senate Democrats Unveil Gun Control Legislation > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Oct 8, 2015 12:57 PM UTC  Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., speaks during a news conference in the Capitol's Senate studio to introduce the Iran Policy Oversight Act of 2015, Oct. 1, 2015. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., speaks during a news conference in the Capitol's Senate studio to introduce the Iran Policy Oversight Act of 2015, Oct. 1, 2015.Tom Williams—Getty Images  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Oct 8, 2015 12:57 PM UTC Senate Democrats will begin a push Thursday for new gun control legislation in the wake of last week’s deadly Oregon shooting with a threat to block other measures until it is brought to the floor. The bill package includes a version of an earlier proposal to expand background checks, but now also includes online gun purchases and firearms bought from unlicensed dealers at gun shows, [the New York _Times_ reports](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/08/us/politics/senate-democrats-to-renew-push-for-gun-control-measures.html?%5Fr=0). It also includes a bill [announced by Connecticut’s senators last week](http://time.com/4059431/oregon-shooting-gun-control-senate-democrats/), which would bar gun sales until background checks are complete. Currently, if a background check is not completed within 72 hours, the sale can go forward. Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut was incensed at the press conference last week when he unveiled his legislation with fellow Sen. Richard Blumenthal. “Congress has become an accomplice in these murders,” he said. “We are quietly endorsing this mass slaughter by refusing to act … I don’t care how many members of Congress send out tweets saying they’re sorry. You aren’t sorry, you aren’t truly sympathetic if you’re not willing to act.” The Democrats have said they will block other measures until this new gun control package gets a vote, but it is still very unlikely the legislation would pass the Republican-controlled House. **Read more:** [_Democratic Lawmakers Urge Gun Control After Oregon Shooting_](http://time.com/4059431/oregon-shooting-gun-control-senate-democrats/) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4066111/senate-democrats-gun-control/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4066111/senate-democrats-gun-control/"},"headline":"Senate Democrats Unveil Gun Control Legislation","datePublished":"2015-10-08T12:57:38.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T11:37:57.292Z","description":"With threat to block other measures until it gets a vote","url":"https://time.com/4066111/senate-democrats-gun-control/","keywords":["Congress","democrats","Senate","Gun Control"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7bea6f0a71f1559d/6988676a5f570f056fb1dc2a/richard-blumenthal.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tessa Berenson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7bea6f0a71f1559d/6988676a5f570f056fb1dc2a/richard-blumenthal.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Iran Policy Oversight Act","caption":"Iran Policy Oversight Act","creditText":"Tom Williams—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/congress/","name":"Congress"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4066111/senate-democrats-gun-control/","name":"Senate Democrats Unveil Gun Control Legislation"}}]}] ```