Led by civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis (D-GA), Democratic members of Congress are engaged in a sit-in on the House floor on Wednesday to demand action on gun bills.
Tea-Publican House leaders violated the First Amendment — there is a reason why it is first — in their zeal to defend the merchants of death and their lobbyists in the NRA and other so-called “gun rights” organizations, not the Second Amendment, which even Justice Scalia in Heller said is subject to reasonable regulations. ‘Spirit of History’: House Democrats Hold Sit-In on Gun Control:
Georgia congressman John Lewis deployed a strategy from his days as a civil rights activist and the viral nature of social media to stage a dramatic sit-in Wednesday on the House floor with his fellow Democrats to force a vote on gun control.
“Sometimes you have to do something out of the ordinary, sometimes you have to make a way out of no way,” said Lewis, one of the last living icons of civil disobedience during the civil rights movement. “There comes a time when you have to say something, when you have to make a little noise, when you have to move your feet. This is the time. Now is the time to get in the way. The time to act is now. We will be silent no more.”
He and roughly 40 fellow House Democrats vowed “to occupy the floor of the House until there is action.”
They stood only briefly to recite the Pledge of Allegiance as a couple dozen visitors in the gallery looked on.
When Lewis finished urging his colleagues to “occupy” the floor, the other Democrats began chanting: “I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired!” and “No bill, no break!”
Lewis later told NBC News that “sometimes you are moved by history.”
Think Progress reports House Republicans Shut Off Cameras After Democrats Start Sit-In For Gun Control:
Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) responded by ordering the cameras off and abruptly ending the session.
Ryan, the leader of the Republican majority in the House, responded by ordering the House break for lunch, shutting off the cameras and effectively making the session closed to the press.
The session was scheduled to continue at noon, but Ryan has the power to “suspend the business of the House for a short time.”
NBC News (above) adds:
The protest is not being televised because the House has not formally gaveled into session.
So Rep. Scott Peters, D-California, has been using the video streaming app, Periscope, to share footage of the sit-in. C-Span has been broadcasting Peters’ video feed.
House members took to social media to lodge their protests using the hashtags #NoBillNoBreak, #NOMORESILENCE and #goodtrouble.
Outside, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi made sure the rest of the country knew about what was going on inside the chamber with a hastily-arranged press conference on the Capitol steps .
“Once again we are fighting an uphill fight to bring legislation to the floor,” Pelosi said. “We truly believe that if there was a vote, we would win the vote.”
The merging of old school protest movement tactics such as sit-ins and speeches and new school social media protests helped ensure that the House Democrats’ revolution on gun policy reform was indeed televised.
[The move] came after Lewis wrote House Speaker Paul Ryan a letter demanding that he keep the House in session instead of going into recess so there could more debate on gun control legislation in the wake of the Orlando massacre.
“As the worst mass shooting in our nation’s history has underscored, our country cannot afford to stand by while this Congress continues to be paralyzed by politics,” Lewis wrote.
The House sit-in came on the heels of a dramatic showdown over gun policy Monday in the Senate.
Four gun policy measures failed to pass the 60-vote threshold to move forward in the Senate. The votes came in the wake of the deadly shooting spree in a gay nightclub in Orlando — the nation’s worst mass shooting in modern history — and a subsequent 15-hour filibuster by Senate Democrats who demanded action on gun control.
How your AZ lawmakers voted: Senate defeats 4 gun-control measures
The four amendments — two filed by Democratic Sens. Dianne Feinstein of California, and Chris Murphy of Connecticut, and two other, less restrictive measures filed by Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and John Cornyn, R-Texas — addressed background checks of prospective gun buyers and the sale of guns and explosives to people on terrorist watch lists.
Murphy, who led last week’s 15-hour filibuster by Senate Democrats who demanded action on gun control, applauded the House’s moves.
So did former President Bill Clinton and President Barack Obama who in a Tweet thanked Lewis for “leading on gun violence where we need it most.” Vice President Joe Biden called Lewis ” the keeper of the nation’s conscience at times of challenge and controversy.”
As the day wore on, the gallery seats began to fill as curious onlookers watched the impassioned speeches. Care packages with snacks and letters from supporters began pouring in for the lawmakers.
Democratic Senators such as Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts, and Sen. Mark Warner. D-Virginia, joined their House colleagues as did former members of Congress. The lawmakers, some of them wiping away tears, shared stories of constituents killed as a result of gun violence.
UPDATE: More Than 100 Members Of Congress Are Participating In The Ongoing Sit-In For Gun Control.
UPDATE: The cowardly GOP House leadership formally adjourned for the July 4 recess early Thursday morning (“it’s not like we are actually doing any real work around here anyway.”) Democrats ended their sit-in staged on the House floor, but pledged to continue to pressure Tea-Publicans to hold votes on gun-control measures. Democrats end sit-in after chaotic 26 hours in House.
Glad to see Representative Grijalva there. But then I knew he would be!
I contacted the office of my Congressional Representative, Kyrsten Sinema, about whether she would be attending the House sit-in. Her staff from both AZ and DC said “We do not know her calendar for today.” They took my name and number after I asked them to call me when they
knew her calendar.
I just called back and asked the same question of AZ office staffers. I was told that she would try to be there today. After pressing for a time, I was told ” 7 pm Eastern.”