Ryan: All options available to punish Dems for guns sit

Ryan spokesman AshLee Strong said the two parties “have different views on how to achieve a shared goal of preventing gun deaths”, especially over how to protect gun owners’ rights.

Democrats are pressing for votes on two amendments: One to broaden background checks for gun buyers, the other to ban many firearms sales to suspected terrorists.

Democrats have not let on about their specific plans moving forward, but they have promised to keep the heat on Republicans to schedule votes on two gun control bills in the wake of the Orlando shootings – one that would bar people on the terror watch list from purchasing guns and another that would expand background checks for firearms.

In the past few years, Republicans have not brought to the House floor any legislation restricting guns.

“We will continue”, Seth Moulton of MA said Thursday in the latest Democratic expression of civil disobedience on the House floor over inaction on gun control.

The week’s news, from Donald Trump’s upcoming meeting with Republican leaders Thursday to the Federal Bureau of Investigation statement about Hillary Clinton’s emails, has overshadowed the Democrats’ standoff on guns.

Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., had pledged to bring a gun measure up for a vote but then pulled it from the schedule Tuesday amid criticism from both sides of the aisle. Jon Cornyn (R-Texas) – to require the Justice Department to go to court to prove “probable cause” that a person is involved in terrorism before blocking a gun purchase. Some called it a “sham bill” while others said it was a “bait and switch” to address gun laws.

“We will not stop until every one of these NRA-funded politicians either step up to the plate and enact change or we will vote them out of office”, said Barbara Parker, the mother of slain TV reporter Alison Parker who was killed by a former colleague on live television past year.

“We expect members of Congress to adhere to the rules and the decorum of what is expected by being on the floor”, he told reporters.

Some Republicans who are still angry about the House floor blockade want to punish the Democrats for breaking protocol by taking photos and posting them on social media as well as live-streaming the protest from the chamber.

“We’re not going away”, Mr Larson said. “The gun issue is secondary, and shows it’s political”.

Many of conservatives are also clamoring for Ryan to take action against House Democrats for their sit-in.

Plans to bar firearms sales to terror suspects are unconstitutional, one of the most powerful politicians in the USA has said. “And we believe we can do it in a good amount of time”.

Ryan said he met with the sergeant-at-arms and the House Parliamentarian to discuss potential responses, out of concern the sit-in would set a bad precedent. “And so we are looking at all options for consequences to make sure that we can get Congress working again”.

“It’s endorsed by the NRA and would make America less safe, not more safe”, House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said on the Capitol steps Wednesday.

“What are they going to do, investigate John Lewis for sitting on the floor of the House?” John Lewis, R-Ga., the civil rights icon who led the sit-in along with Larson, acknowledged that members might get in trouble. “That’s something I think we should consider for the future”. “But it would interesting to see”. We used technology on the floor? She added that she was “very proud of our members”.