WASHINGTON — Democrats disrupted the House's legislative work Wednesday, staging a sit-in on the House floor and refusing to leave until they secured a vote on gun control measures. Republicans were forced to recess while cutting off the C-SPAN cameras that showed the protest.
A group of nearly 100 Democrats led by Georgia Rep. John Lewis demanded a vote on measures to expand background checks and block gun purchases by some suspected terrorists in the aftermath of last week's massacre in Orlando, Fla., that killed 49 people. It was the worst shooting in modern U.S. history.
"No bill, no break," shouted Democrats, who demanded that House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., keep the House in session through its planned week-long recess next week to debate and vote on gun legislation.
Democrats accused Republicans of political cowardice by failing to schedule a vote.
"Are they more afraid than the children at Sandy Hook?" asked Rep. Mike Thompson, D-Calif., referring to the 2012 shooting that killed 26 people, including 20 elementary school children, in Newtown, Conn. "What is so scary about having a vote?"
"What has this body done" to respond to the violence, Lewis asked, then answered his own question: "Nothing. We have turned a deaf ear to the blood of innocents. We are blind to a crisis. Where is our courage? How many more mothers ... and fathers need to shed tears of grief?"
About 30 minutes after the sit-in began, Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, tried to start the House's work at noon. The customary prayer and pledge of allegiance went ahead, but Poe was forced to recess the House when dozens of Democrats refused to leave the well.
Read Thursday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.