Through those cameras, C-SPAN aired the beginning of the protest with a speech by Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga.
Advertisement
“If you are here representing Americans in Congress, you signed up to take tough votes”, Castro said.
Rep. Lewis is a veteran leader of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, and has represented the fifth district of Georgia, which includes most of Atlanta, since 1987.
Ultimately, Ryan concluded the session and the Republicans left the floor, but many Democrats in the chamber do not plan to leave at all.
In chaotic scenes, the Republican leadership attempted to take back control of the House again with another vote shortly before 1am amid shouts from Democratic protestors as they held up photographs of the victims of gun violence.
Montana’s lone representative, Republican Ryan Zinke strongly opposes the sit-in.
With the C-Span cameras turned off during the recess, the public broadcaster responsible for covering congressional sessions enacted a creative workaround, broadcasting live video from social media applications Periscope and Facebook, filmed by two lawmakers.
Democrats were seeking votes on legislation to expand background checks for gun purchases, as well as measures to curb the sale of weapons to people on government watch lists.
Following the June 12 deaths of 49 people and injury of 53 others by a gunman in an Orlando nightclub, calls have intensified for a vote on a bill that would allow the Federal Bureau of Investigation and attorney general to bar anyone on the “no-fly” list from purchasing guns.
A mom from the Valley says she supports the House Democrats “sit-in” protest in Washington. House cameras were turned off earlier in the day, forcing the sit-in to be broadcast using Periscope.
Congressman Ted Poe, a Republican, repeatedly banged his gavel to call the House into order, but the Democrats refused, and so he gaveled the House into recess.
The protest grew to include over 200 Democrats from the House and Senate – including U.S. Sens. Democrats want a vote on gun control. “Today’s action on the House floor is shameful”.
“Give us a vote”.
Instead, politicians tweeted pictures of representatives sitting on the House floor. “We need our kids to hear us speak up about the risks guns pose to our communities, and against the status quo that doesn’t make sense”, said President Obama.
“There is a stain on the soul of America, and we must heal it, and it begins tonight”, freshman Democrat Brendan Boyle told AFP news agency.
Advertisement
Outside the Capitol late Wednesday, hundreds of people thronged in support of the revolt and the effort to vote on gun control, just days after the worst mass shooting in modern United States history. Debbie Dingell said her husband is a responsible gun owner, but said she grew up in a house with a man who should not have had access to a gun – her father.
