WASHINGTON — When about two dozen House Democrats, led by civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., marched into the House chamber for a rare and dramatic sit-in Wednesday morning, they launched a protest that was more reminiscent of civil disobedience than of parliamentary procedure.
The lawmakers chanted “No bill, no break” between smoldering speeches about the urgent need for gun control and pledges to occupy the House as long as it might take to force majority Republicans to call a vote on a “no-fly, no buy” gun legislation. The bill would bar terror suspects listed on the FBI’s “no-fly” list from purchasing firearms.
It was a highly unusual and theatrical push for a vote, not often seen on Capitol Hill. In fact, sit-ins are few and far between in the House or Senate chambers. Only three, including the Democrats’ protest this week, have taken place since the 1970s.
In 2008 when the GOP was the minority party in the U.S. House, Democrats found themselves on the opposite end of such an occupation. Then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi responded by killing the chamber’s lights and turning off the microphones, leaving Republicans led by former Rep. John Boehner shouting out speeches about high gas prices.
Just as House Speaker Paul Ryan called the Democrats’ sit-in over gun control as “nothing more than a publicity stunt,” Democrats dismissed the Republicans’ 2008 protest over offshore drilling as a political temper tantrum. The Republican effort ultimately failed.
Years earlier, in 1995, Democrats occupied the House floor to protest a budget passed by Republicans. Only 28 out of 206 House Democrats lingered to protest the Republicans’ move to adjourn the session, and the occupation lasted less than three hours, paling in comparison to this week’s protest.
The Democrats current occupation of the House chamber came less than a week after Republicans in the Senate agreed to allow a vote on two gun control measures, ending a nearly 15-hour filibuster by Senate Democrats. The Senate rejected four separate gun control proposals Monday, fueling frustration among House Democrats that Republican leaders on the House side were unwilling to even permit a vote the gun issue.
Ryan and House Republicans made an attempt to end the Democrats’ sit-in early Thursday morning by rapidly debating and voting on several bills, including one to help fight the Zika virus. Ryan then adjourned the House until July 5. But Democrats vowed to continue their occupation, and many still remained in the chamber mid-day Thursday.
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