Here's How Twitter Is Reacting to Today's Historic Filibuster

This morning, Senator Christopher Murphy (D-CT) took the Senate floor alongside friends and colleagues as the Democratic party demanded reform over gun laws following the massacre this past weekend in Orlando. Word spread quickly, sending the terms #filibuster, #Enough, and a snarky Game of Thrones parody, #HoldTheFloor, to the top of Twitter’s trending list.

Politics and reform in the age of social media has proven that the two collide in explosives ways. Campaign coverage, details of tragedy, and acts of online protest have found a widespread stage on social media. With the filibuster currently going into its 13th hour, Twitter gave the public an interesting look at how America reacted with a map of actions based on searches for Senator Murphy and the hashtag #filibuster. You can view the full map here.

Senate Democrats are still holding the floor in protest of their colleagues’ inaction toward repeated mass shootings that have only gained traction throughout the course of the past year.

“I am prepared to stand on the Senate floor and talk about the need to prevent gun violence for as long as I can,” Sen. Murphy tweeted this morning. Twitter users shared resources for contacting local Senators to urge them to join in and take action, or to encourage the Senators already on the floor. Users also shared their opinions throughout the evening, including Senator Cory Booker’s (D-New Jersey) passionate speech at the turn of 1 a.m. Eastern.

“I don’t know how long it will take, but I know this is an issue,” Senator Booker said. Across social media, the filibuster held a strong standing point in ongoing conversation, reaching numbers as high as 67,000 on Twitter by 9 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday night. As of this writing, there have been no responses on the floor from Republican Senators regarding the filibuster.