Rubio to Join Filibuster on Gun Legislation

Sen. Marco Rubio plans to join other Republican senators in a filibuster of legislation to restrict gun ownership.

The Florida senator announced Thursday he would join the effort of fellow Sens. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Ted Cruz, R-Texas, The Huffington Post reports.

But this filibuster isn’t expected to compare to the 13-hour talk-a-thon Paul held on the Senate floor over the government’s use of drones. Instead, Paul and Cruz sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid that they intend to trigger a “silent filibuster” by withholding broad bipartisan support for the bill, the Huffington Post has previously reported.

“We should look for ways to keep firearms out of the hands of criminals and the mentally ill prone to misusing them, but I oppose legislation that will be used as a vehicle to impose new Second Amendment restrictions on responsible, law-abiding gun owners,” Rubio said in a written statement. “We should work to reduce tragic acts of violence by addressing violence at its source, including untreated mental illness, the lack of adequate information-sharing on mental health issues, and the breakdown of the family.”

The senators’ letter expressed the Second Amendment’s protections for citizens to defend themselves, noting, “It speaks to history’s lesson that government cannot be in all places at all times, and history’s warning about the oppression of a government that tries.”