Lewis, who shed blood for civil rights, leads Dems on guns

To try to force the issue, frustrated Democrats disrupted House business Wednesday by literally sitting down on the floor of the House and staying there.

The protest was led by Congressman John Lewis, a civil rights icon who led non-violent protests against segregation in the 1960s, including sit-ins at segregated restaurants.

“We must come back here on July 5 more determined than ever before”, he said, while he used the hashtag #NoBillNoBreak in another tweet.

The House is on a long-scheduled Fourth of July recess and will reconvene on 5 July.

Pocan is hopeful that bill passes and returns to the House after the break.

“I’m sharing the frustration that many Vermonters and Americans are feeling about Congress’ inaction in the face of one mass shooting tragedy after another”, Welch said.

With the speaker refusing to entertain votes, he enabled representatives to hide their position on moderate, reasonable gun-control measures supported by the majority of Americans.

According to USA Today, Kentucky Representative John Yarmuth was among the original protest planners and was with Lewis when the sit-in began.

“If you can’t get on a plane because of the danger that may pose, there is no reason you should be able to purchase a risky weapon”, said Republican Representative Carlos Curbelo of Florida, in a refrain that has ricocheted through the U.S. Capitol since the June 12 mass shooting in Orlando.

“We are going to be pressing the Speaker’s office when we get back in session”.

House members led by Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and James Clyburn (D-SC), walk down the East Front of the U.S. Capitol building to speak with supporters on June 23, 2016.

Democrats in Congress were right to stage a sit-in this week demanding meaningful action on America’s awful epidemic of gun violence.

Republican Senator Bob Corker told reporters Republicans aimed to vote in the Senate on Thursday on whether to derail bipartisan compromise gun control legislation that has been under negotiation for several days.

Ryan, who called Republicans “soft on terrorism” during the sit-in Wednesday, said a day later: “People are really now seeing the Republicans holding things up and throwing sand in the gears”. Some of the protesters sat in their seats, others on the floor. Similar measures were defeated in the Senate last week after a 15-hour Democratic filibuster.

Democrats say their sit-in on guns succeeded even though they did not get the two votes they were seeking. Later, at around 3 a.m., Republicans voted to adjourn the House. Ryan maintained he does not intend bringing up a vote for bills that would ban suspected terrorists on no-fly lists from purchasing weapons and impose universal background checks.

“Remember. these are Republican-sponsored bills”, Castro says. It got 53-47.