Democrats took over the House floor on Wednesday in an attempt to force votes on gun-control proposals, preventing Republican leaders from conducting the
business of the day.
Chanting “no bill, no vote,” the group of House Democrats shouted down Republican leaders’ efforts to gavel the House into session and begin conducting the day’s legislative agenda following the opening prayer and the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance.
Democrats, who gathered in the well of the chamber, began their sit-in around 11:30 a.m., with members coming in and out to lend their support. The group grew to about 80 members by 12:30 p.m. The assembled Democrats are demanding gun-control votes on measures that would prevent suspected terrorists from buying firearms and expand background checks. Several members also spoke in support of banning assault weapons.
Democrats took turns telling stories about gun violence in their home districts and decrying GOP leaders for not holding a single gun vote on the issue since the 2012 shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.
“Every day we hear about somebody else being murdered with a gun,” said Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.), a chairman of the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force who noted he owns a firearm. “The Republican leadership will not allow these bills to come” to a vote.
Democrats said they have no plans to end their protest without the promise of a vote.
“We’re not doing business today unless there’s a vote,” said Rep. Mike Doyle (D-Pa).
House Democrats appealed to rank-and-file Republicans to buck their leadership and join them — although by about 1 p.m., none had taken them up on the invitation. They also asked Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) to come to the floor.
“The House cannot operate without members following the rules of the institution, so the House has recessed subject to the call of the chair,” said Ryan spokeswoman AshLee Strong. She did not say if Republicans had a plan to resolve the impasse with Democrats.
“This is not about partisan politics,” said Rep. Ted Deutch (D-Fla.). “Look at who’s here, from every part of the country — diversity that’s represented here is exactly what we see throughout America.”
Members were splayed across the well, leaning against podiums and chairs in a manner that would have earned them a reprimand if the House were in session.
But because it wasn’t, the C-SPAN cameras were turned off, and so were the microphones — leading some members to jokingly argue about who should take the next turn to speak based on who had the loudest voice.
Democrats also pointed across the Capitol to the Senate, where, as Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-N.Y.) said, “they at least had a vote” on gun-control measures.
The gathering turned somber at times. At one point, Assistant Democratic Leader James Clyburn (D-S.C.) offered a prayer. At another, members broke into singing the spiritual “We Shall Not Be Moved,” a song associated with the civil rights movement.
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