Statement of California Democratic Party Chairman John Burton on Need for Filibuster Reform in Wake of U.S. Senate's Failure to Take Action Against Gun Violence

At no point has the need to end the Senate’s absurd 60-vote requirement been made clearer than yesterday. A measure to require more gun buyers to go through background checks garnered 54 votes - more than a majority - but failed to clear the 60 vote threshold that has become a baseline to move any business forward in the Senate.

Incredulous Americans today woke up to the news that even in the wake of the tragedies in Aurora, Colorado, Oak Creek, Wisconsin and Newtown, Connecticut, the Senate can’t pass sensible gun legislation to make these mass shootings less common or more difficult to carry out.
The Senate is broken. Its procedures are arcane and indefensible.

It is time to end the 60-vote requirement. The victims of tragedies past, and the victims of tragedies that are more likely to come without action, demand no less.