海角大神

Clad in running shoes and a UConn baseball cap, Sen. Chris Murphy walks along the shoulder of a two-lane road, a red umbrella bobbing above his head. Occasionally, he鈥檚 splashed by a passing car.聽

The junior senator is on his sixth 鈥淲alk Across Connecticut,鈥� in which he treks from one end of his state to the other, talking with voters and taking selfies along the way. It鈥檚 the kind of event that politicians often invite the press to cover. But Mr. Murphy, his team warns, likes to walk alone.

For the past decade, he has approached his quest to curb America鈥檚 gun violence in much the same way: one dogged step at a time, and often by himself.聽

Ever since 2012, when the then-congressman found himself consoling devastated parents outside Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown following one of the worst mass shootings in American history, Mr. Murphy has immersed himself in the gun issue. He learned from activists, wrote a book, and tried to get Congress to pass gun safety legislation 鈥� to no avail.聽

But then, on May 24, came another shooting at another elementary school, this time across the country in Uvalde, Texas. Nineteen children and two teachers died, and something in the country seemed to break. Mr. Murphy was approached by a small cohort of Democrats and Republicans who were committed to passing something. On June 25, President Joe Biden signed into law the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the first major federal gun safety measure in almost three decades.

It didn鈥檛 make everyone happy. Critics on the left called the bill a sop to Republicans that would do little to solve the problem. Those on the other side said it would violate the rights of law-abiding Americans.

But for the Connecticut senator, it was a significant milestone 鈥� in a journey that鈥檚 still ongoing.聽

鈥淚 have young kids, and my oldest was not so far away from first grade when Sandy Hook happened,鈥� he says, eyes locked on his feet as he walks. 鈥淲hen that tragedy happened, my entire political life changed.鈥澛�

A career politician from a decidedly blue state, Mr. Murphy may not seem like the future of the Democratic Party. At a time when many voters gravitate toward outside-the-box personalities, he gives off a decidedly low-key, button-down dad vibe. But as Americans grow increasingly frustrated with a government that seems frozen by inaction and bickering, Mr. Murphy has garnered praise from both sides of the aisle for his Sisyphean determination to get something, anything, done on guns. Many say the legislation wouldn鈥檛 have happened without his willingness to listen to opponents and put substance ahead of politics.聽

鈥淭his town rewards people who talk themselves out of things,鈥� says Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii, a fellow Democrat and one of Mr. Murphy鈥檚 closest friends in the Senate. 鈥淐hris didn鈥檛 mind looking like he was trying and failing.鈥澛�

Sandy Hook to Uvalde

On a cold December day in 2012, Mr. Murphy was getting ready to board a train to New York with his wife and two young sons to celebrate the Christmas season, when word reached him that there had been a shooting at a school in his district. Maybe it鈥檚 a workplace dispute gone horribly wrong, thought the then-congressman, who had just been elected to the U.S. Senate one month prior.聽

During the final weeks of his senatorial campaign, Mr. Murphy had been feeling rudderless. A profile in a local paper had labeled him a 鈥渕iddle of the pack鈥� politician and Mr. Murphy wondered if the journalist was right. 鈥淚 knew that the driving, personal connection to a cause or an issue that drove many of my colleagues had eluded me,鈥� he later wrote in his book, 鈥淭he Violence Inside Us.鈥澛�

Sandy Hook changed everything. After the massacre, in which 20 first graders and six staff members were killed, President Barack Obama signed almost two dozen executive actions on guns. But legislation out of Congress proved elusive. A 2013 Senate effort led by Democrat Joe Manchin and Republican Pat Toomey to extend background checks for most gun sales came close to passing, but ultimately fell six votes short.聽

Over the years, Mr. Murphy took on more of a leadership role. Following back-to-back shootings in El Paso, Texas; and Dayton, Ohio, in 2019 that left 32 people dead, he began negotiating with then-Attorney General Bill Barr and President Donald Trump on legislation to ensure background checks for all commercial gun sales. Those efforts stalled as the Trump White House became consumed by the president鈥檚 first impeachment.聽

Then came May 2022. A gunman in Buffalo, New York, killed 10 people in a grocery store, and less than two weeks later came Uvalde. When the news broke, Mr. Murphy took to the Senate floor for an impromptu speech that went viral, in which he repeated to his colleagues: 鈥淲hat are we doing?鈥�

鈥淲hy are we here, if not to solve a problem as existential as this?鈥� he demanded.

The includes $750 million for states to implement red flag laws, which would allow courts to remove deadly weapons from individuals when necessary. It also includes an enhanced screening process for gun buyers under the age of 21, as well as billions of dollars for mental health and school safety, and closes the 鈥渂oyfriend loophole鈥� 鈥� to prevent people convicted of domestic abuse from owning a gun for a period of time.

Mr. Murphy believes it鈥檚 a valuable set of measures. But it鈥檚 also just a start.

鈥淚 feel really guilty that I didn鈥檛 work on this issue before Sandy Hook, because I was in Congress and it was already an epidemic,鈥� he says.聽鈥淚t鈥檚 all patently absurd to me that parents have to talk to their kids about active shooter drills. These conversations only happen in the United States 鈥� and I just refuse to accept that we accept this as the new normal.鈥�

Story Hinckley/海角大神

"On gun control, Senator Murphy has been with us the whole time," says Joan Hammond (left), a retired business manager, sitting alongside Mary Weber (center), a retired dental hygienist, and Henrietta Small (right), a social worker, at a town hall event for Sen. Chris Murphy on July 5, 2022, in Litchfield, Connecticut.

鈥淐hange is now possible鈥�

In Connecticut, many gun safety advocates speak of the senator like a family member or longtime friend.聽

Erica Lafferty says Mr. Murphy has been a constant presence in her life for the past decade.聽Both were at the fire station after the Sandy Hook shooting, at the top of the winding drive to the rebuilt elementary school that鈥檚 now equipped with buzzers and cameras and gates. When Ms. Lafferty and her sister arrived there looking for their mother, Sandy Hook Principal Dawn Lafferty Hochsprung, a man in tactical gear directed them to a room with dozens of parents.聽

鈥淚 kept thinking, there are so many people in here; this must be where we鈥檒l find Mom,鈥� recalls Ms. Lafferty. 鈥淏ut then I saw EMTs come in and I was like, this is not the room where we find our people. This is the room where we get some terrible news.鈥�

Ms. Lafferty now works as a program manager at Everytown for Gun Safety, one of the largest gun control advocacy groups in the country.

She would have liked to see more measures included in last month鈥檚 bill 鈥� such as enhanced background checks and secure gun storage. But she characterizes it as 鈥渁 huge collection of so many great first steps.鈥�

鈥淭hey would have done more if they could have, but it鈥檚 not just their decision. They had to convince 60 people,鈥� agrees Jeremy Stein, executive director of CT Against Gun Violence. 鈥淭his is a historic moment in our country. It shouldn鈥檛 be, but it is.鈥�

Still, the act has gotten criticism from the left. Some gun safety activists have pointed to the mass shooting on the Fourth of July at a parade in Highland Park, Illinois, as evidence that the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act didn鈥檛 go nearly far enough in regulating gun ownership.聽聽

Three women sitting in the front row at a town hall with Senator Murphy in Litchfield say they thought the package should have included an assault weapons ban.

鈥淚 was a little disappointed to tell you the truth,鈥� says social worker Henrietta Small. 鈥淚t鈥檚 barely a start,鈥� adds retired dental hygienist Mary Weber.聽

Mr. Murphy is aware of this criticism.

鈥淚 will defend the bill. I think the bill will save thousands of lives. I think the bill is worth supporting even if you think you鈥檙e never going to pass another gun bill,鈥� says Mr. Murphy. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not enough 鈥� but there鈥檚 no social change movement in this country that got everything they wanted in the first bill they passed.鈥�

He鈥檚 hopeful that now there will be momentum to build on. Once Republicans learn they won鈥檛 be voted out of office for passing gun safety measures that most voters approve of, he says, 鈥渢hey鈥檒l be back for more.鈥� Maybe it could even lead to compromises on other types of bills.聽

鈥淚鈥檓 confident that we鈥檝e crossed a Rubicon, where change is now possible in the future that wasn鈥檛 possible prior to this getting done.鈥�

Skepticism on the right

That鈥檚 exactly Chris Byrne鈥檚 fear.聽

Mr. Byrne owns Stonehill Kennel in Goshen, a rural part of Connecticut that President Trump won by . Mr. Murphy stopped by on his walk, and the two men chatted about oil prices, the economy 鈥� and of course, guns.聽聽

Afterward, Mr. Byrne, in a red sleeveless shirt and with a long gray beard and sunglasses on his bald head, commended the Democratic senator for visiting and for showing 鈥済enuine interest鈥� in his business.聽

鈥淚 respect what he鈥檚 doing, and I think more senators should do stuff like this,鈥� says Mr. Byrne, motioning to the winding road above his driveway where the senator had continued his walk. 鈥淏ut sometimes he infuriates me when I鈥檓 watching TV. ... I鈥檓 a Second Amendment supporter, so personally, I think you should be able to have a gun unless you鈥檙e a criminal.鈥澛�

Many Democrats and Republicans alike say an absolutist mentality on both sides has worked to block compromise over the years on guns.聽

Sen. Thom Tillis, a Republican from North Carolina who was part of the core negotiating team alongside Mr. Murphy, Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, and Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, says Mr. Murphy put it best.

鈥淗e said, 鈥楩orever, Democrats have said it鈥檚 all or nothing, and Republicans have said it鈥檚 all or nothing. And what we鈥檝e got for 30 years is nothing.鈥� And so I think he genuinely went in with an open mind and a desire to make some progress,鈥� says Senator Tillis outside his office in Washington.聽

Also key was the fact that the team had someone 鈥渨ith Chris鈥� credibility鈥� to sell the package to the Democratic caucus, Mr. Tillis adds. And all four senators were willing to put their reputations on the line for a bipartisan package they knew would likely frustrate some of their own supporters.聽

鈥淭here was something unique about the partnership of the four of us,鈥� agrees Mr. Murphy. 鈥淏ut the biggest reason for the breakthrough is that Republicans had just decided it was in their interest to vote for a compromise, in a way that they had not in any other moment since Sandy Hook.鈥澛犅�

鈥淵ou can鈥檛 force a compromise to happen if the politics aren鈥檛 there,鈥� he continues. 鈥淚n order for there to be a breakthrough on immigration, Republicans have to believe that there is a political upside to voting for something controversial. For there to be a breakthrough on entitlement reform, Democrats have to believe that there鈥檚 a political benefit to voting for changes in Social Security or Medicare.鈥�

Nothing in Washington happens apart from politics 鈥� but politics are subject to events, and events can change, as Mr. Murphy well knows. So what does he think about the political buzz that鈥檚 been surrounding him ever since the bill鈥檚 passage, including rumors that he might run for president?

鈥淭he short answer is, I鈥檓 very confident that Joe Biden is running again and I鈥檓 going to be an enthusiastic supporter.鈥� He pauses. 鈥淭he longer answer is that, at some point in my life, that might interest me.鈥�

Crossing a state, and a political divide

By week鈥檚 end, Mr. Murphy will have traveled almost 70 miles 鈥� less than he鈥檚 done in years past, before a knee injury made him start traversing his state vertically rather than horizontally.聽

He鈥檚 enthusiastically discussing running, music, and his preteen sons when a campaign staffer pulls up in a sedan. But with the conversation about to wrap up, Mr. Murphy stops. Something has been on his mind all day.聽

Back at Mr. Byrne鈥檚 kennel, before the rain had started, an employee had reacted to the senator鈥檚 impromptu visit with notable animosity. When Mr. Murphy asked the man if he supported former President Trump, he retorted, 鈥淲ell, I鈥檓 an American.鈥� Mr. Murphy chose to ignore the comment because, he says, he didn鈥檛 want the conversation to 鈥済et to a bad place.鈥澛�

鈥淎nd I鈥檝e been kicking myself since then. Because I think the way you solve that is to engage, right?鈥� he continues. To 鈥渢ry to find a recognition that we have a lot more common ground. Was there a way for me to engage on that question, in a respectful way that would have helped the situation?鈥澛�

Without answering his own question, the senator then says goodbye and turns to walk alone down a gravel road under a canopy of wet leaves. He still has a few more miles to cover before the sun sets.聽

Part 2: In his own words: Senator Murphy on guns, democracy, and 2024