Democrats protest on House floor, call for vote on gun bills

Published 6:30 pm Wednesday, June 22, 2016

By Kery Murakami / CNHI Washington Reporter

Rep. Katherine Clark, D-Mass., sits with Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Reps. John Lewis, D-Ga., Terri Sewell, D-Ala., and Gregory Meeks, D-New York, during a protest on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives. The Democrats charged House Speaker Paul Ryan with stonewalling a vote on gun-control bills before Congress breaks for a July 4 recess.

WASHINGTON – More than 50 Democrats staged a sit-in on the floor of the House of Representatives on Wednesday, saying Speaker Paul Ryan will not allow a vote on gun-control bills before the chamber adjourns for its July 4 recess.

In a bizarre scene reflective of the passionate politics of the gun debate, several members of Congress literally sat on the floor, as one after another spoke in favor of more gun laws and accused Republicans of being under the control of the National Rifle Association.

The Democrats – who included Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey of Massachusetts, and Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania – repeatedly chanted “No Bill, No Break.”

Rep. Matt Cartwright, D-Pa., ticked off a number of high-profile shootings that have led to calls for stricter background checks and a ban on firearms sales to suspected terrorists on the government’s no-fly list.

“We’re talking about going on a break. Have the families and loved ones of the innocent victims of Columbine had a break from their grief?” Cartwright began. “Have the families and loved ones of the innocent victims of Orlando had a break from the horror we just saw?”

Email newsletter signup

Members involved in the sit-in protested when Republicans turned off cameras always pointed toward the House floor, preventing for a time broadcasts by C-SPAN and other outlets.

Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., and others took to Twitter to publicize the protest. The freshman congressman tweeted: “Common sense reforms that the overwhelming majority of Americans support. Voting on them is our job and the least we can do. #NoBillNoVote.”

Warren tweeted: “The @HouseGOP may run from a vote for common-sense gun measures, but they can’t hide.”

Moulton, a former Marine and Iraq War veteran, said at the sit-in that he supports the Second Amendment. But some restrictions, such as an assault weapons ban, are reasonable.

“We have made a decision as a society that we will not allow civilians to walk around with grenades,” he said. “We don’t allow civilians to walk around with landmines or rockets. There are lots of weapons of war that are reasonably restricted here at home.”

The protest was applauded by supporters of tougher gun laws.

“The next step is clear for both parties – it’s time to buck the NRA, protect the public and ensure that dangerous people, including suspected terrorists, cannot buy guns,” said Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America.”

Rep. Lou Barletta, R-Pennsylvania, dismissed the sit-in as “a calculated, staged political stunt.”

He said none of the Democrats’ proposals would have prevented the Orlando terrorist attack. Instead he called them a “cynical attempt” to use tragedy as leverage to restrict individuals’ gun rights.

“If they want to protest something, perhaps they should picket the White House and demand that President Obama take ISIS and Islamic terrorism seriously for once,” he said.

Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn, R-Texas, said in a call with reporters that the sit-in may play to Democratic supporters.

“But it really doesn’t get to the root problem, so I frankly think it’s a diversion,” he said.

Kery Murakami is the Washington, D.C. reporter for CNHI’s newspapers and websites. Reach him at kmurakami@cnhi.com