Some sat cross-legged, chanting “no bill, no break”, demanding to vote before the next recess.
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“I’m afraid, ultimately, this has continued to poison the well for us to be able to get any work done, including on this issue that they’re concerned about”, he said. It now seems shamefully apparent that the sit-in was nothing more or less than the most cynical of stunts to con donors into parting with their money.
Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and his Republican counterparts attempted to intervene and have the sit-in shut down by officially adjourning the body until July 5, but Lewis and the others participating in the sit-in stood their ground.
House Democrats, including U.S. Rep. Mike Doyle, D-14, Forest Hills, occupied the House floor for 26 hours from Wednesday to Thursday to demand votes on gun-control legislation in the wake of the mass shooting at an Orlando gay nightclub that killed 49 people and wounded 53.
US Democrats spent more than 24 hours occupying Congress in a protest over gun control, refusing to yield the floor, sharing stories of how gun violence had affected their voters and posting on social media.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which supports House Democrats, sent out a flurry of emails throughout the sit-in, which started before lunch Wednesday and hasn’t stopped yet. However, given Senate rules that require 60 votes for the measure to advance, its fate is uncertain even if a vote does get scheduled.
The amendment also requires the Federal Bureau of Investigation to be notified if a person who has been on a broader terrorism watch list within the past five years attempts to purchase a firearm.
Despite failing to ignite action from the Senate, Congressman Brian Higgins says the Democratic sit-in at the House chambers “effective in galvanizing public opinion” on what he calls “common sense gun safety measures”. “Daughters and sons. Friends and neighbours”, Mr Lewis said, before taking a seat on the floor of the House chamber. Ryan sharpened his attack on Democrats, repeating his accusation that the sit-in was a “publicity stunt” but also accusing them of engaging in a “fundraising scheme”.
“I don’t think we should have anymore gun control bills”.
“We won’t stop until the job is done”, the Californian declared to fellow Democrats camped out in the well of the House in the early hours of the morning, saying the party had changed “the dynamic of what happens” concerning guns.
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Meanwhile, a bipartisan Senate compromise on gun control led by Sen. “When they turned off the House cameras, we livestreamed from our phones”, said Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi.
