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Democrats stage sit-in on House floor over gun control


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Just days after

four gun control measures failed to pass in the U.S. Senate, House Democrats are staging their own historic protest on the floor of the lower chamber over firearm safety legislation.

A group of roughly 60 legislators sat down cross-legged in the middle of the House floor Wednesday, pushing for gun control votes. Some remained standing on the floor.

The group included civil rights icon Rep, John Lewis, D-Georgia, Kentucky's Rep. John Yarmuth, and Rep. Joe Courtney of Connecticut.

"We can no longer wait," Lewis said. "We can no longer be patient. So today, we come to the well of the House to dramatize the need for action. Not next month, not next year, but now -- today. Sometimes you have to do something out of the ordinary. Sometimes you have to make a way out of no way."

"We have been too quiet for too long," he added. "There comes a time when you have to say something. You have to make a little noise. You have to move your feet. This is the time."

Members took turns speaker passionately at the podium, chanting "No bill, no break" after each speech.

Later, Rep. Jim Clyburn of South Carolina led a prayer on the floor, with Democrats holding hands.

Democrats' presumptive presidential nominee Hillary Clinton threw her support behind the sit-in Wednesday, praising the lawmakers' protest as "real leadership":
Other lawmakers are also throwing their weight behind the floor sit-in.

Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy, who led a filibuster in the Senate last week leading to the votes on gun measures, also walked in to the House chamber to show his support. His fellow Connecticut senator, Richard Blumenthal, also joined the sit-in, along with Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, Minnesota Sen. Al Franken, and New York Sen. Chuck Schumer.

Democratic lawmakers' frustrations on the inaction boiled over in the aftermath of the shooting at an Orlando nightclub last week, when a gunman opened fire and killed dozens of people in the deadliest U.S. mass shooting in history.

The Democrats' sit-in comes a little over a week after they shouted down Paul Ryan on the floor during a moment of silence after Orlando shooting, demanding that a vote be held on gun control legislation.

Over the past five years, legislators have introduced more than 100 gun control measures in Congress. But despite numerous mass shootings in the country since 2011, none of them have passed into law, and few have made it to the House or Senate floor for a vote.

In the latest legislative battle over firearm safety Monday, after Democrats staged a nearly 15-hour filibuster, Senate Republicans blocked four amendments that would have expanded criminal background checks before gun purchases and instituted a "no fly, no buy" policy for those on federal terror watch lists, among other policies.

After the four measures failed to advance, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, unveiled legislation Tuesday to prevent terrorists from obtaining guns. Its backers say the bill could actually win over a 60-vote majority and pass through the Senate.

The House briefly returned for legislative business at noon.

The Republican presiding over the chamber quickly ordered the House back into recess. Democrats were asked to leave the well of the House floor, but legislators refused to budge from their positions. "We will not be moved," Florida Rep. Kathy Castor, a Democrat, said on the floor.

Cameras controlled by the House Recording Studio typically trained on the House floor have also been shut off. Rules say the House Recording Studio cameras can only be on when the House is in session.

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5 minutes ago, Cold War said:

More terrorism by the left.

Only using the "Benny Hill" Terrorism ploy.

3 minutes ago, Ebsell said:

Fucking pathetic stunt for attention instead of actually dealing with the issue 

Agreed.  Grown adults and elected officials at that!  However, that tactic will bring more followers and bring more picket carriers out on the streets.  Because, protesting is the "in thing" now for the Libs.

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39 minutes ago, Zambroski said:

Only using the "Benny Hill" Terrorism ploy.

Agreed.  Grown adults and elected officials at that!  However, that tactic will bring more followers and bring more picket carriers out on the streets.  Because, protesting is the "in thing" now for the Libs.

Republicans really need to use this to their advantage

 

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1 hour ago, racer254 said:

Keep believing that.  This will not end well for Dems.

 

Your not this dumb are you?

How did the 23 billion dollar shutdown go for the repubs? Voters elect politicians to do their job. A huge majority of Americans want better gun laws. Good luck thinking this makes the Democrats look childish.

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This does make democrats look childish.  They had 2 bills that would have easily passed and they chose not to vote for them.  If the republicans are smart they could really use this.  Do you remember when democrats in Wisconsin ran to Illinois.  Same thing.

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1 hour ago, racer254 said:

This does make democrats look childish.  They had 2 bills that would have easily passed and they chose not to vote for them.  If the republicans are smart they could really use this.  Do you remember when democrats in Wisconsin ran to Illinois.  Same thing.

Really? Doing what 80% of Americans want is childish? You need to seek help

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1 minute ago, Mainecat said:

Really? Doing what 80% of Americans want is childish? You need to seek help

So now votes should be taken in congress based off unscientific, biased written polls?   God damn you are a shitty American.  

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1 hour ago, Highmark said:

So now votes should be taken in congress based off unscientific, biased written polls?   God damn you are a shitty American.  

 

1 hour ago, Highmark said:

So now votes should be taken in congress based off unscientific, biased written polls?   God damn you are a shitty American.  

Ignoring what 80% of the country wants is pure ignorance. Buy hey keep supporting it

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8 minutes ago, Mainecat said:

 

Ignoring what 80% of the country wants is pure ignorance. Buy hey keep supporting it

If I take a poll of single men whether or not they want to get laid by a supermodel tonight probably 99% would say yes.

In the same poll if I add the supermodel is habitual heroin user and has HIV I'd bet 100% say no.   

Polls written to get a certain response immediately after a tragedy should not set law in this country.   Reality is I really believe you know that but your bias has fucked up your brain.

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1 hour ago, Highmark said:

If I take a poll of single men whether or not they want to get laid by a supermodel tonight probably 99% would say yes.

In the same poll if I add the supermodel is habitual heroin user and has HIV I'd bet 100% say no.   

Polls written to get a certain response immediately after a tragedy should not set law in this country.   Reality is I really believe you know that but your bias has fucked up your brain.

Again apples tomatoes. Swing and miss

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19 minutes ago, Mainecat said:

Again apples tomatoes. Swing and miss

You do realize that the bill in question goes beyond the "no fly list."  Anyone they want to put on a terror watch list could be included.  If it was 1.1 million people in 2013 how many are on it now?   Should they go and confiscate over 1 million peoples guns all while giving fully automatic or true assault weapons to current and future terrorists in Libya, Syria and other places?

http://www.factcheck.org/2016/06/not-just-the-no-fly-list/

The Senate amendment in question, proposed by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, would have applied to a much larger group than the no-fly list. As we reported in December, Feinstein’s office told us the measure, which would have allowed the attorney general to block gun sales to individuals on these lists, would have included a few terrorist databases, and the no-fly list is a subset of one of them.

The largest of the databases is the Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment, or TIDE, which included 1.1 million people as of December 2013. The second is the FBI’s Terrorist Screening Database, which is referred to simply as the Terrorist Watchlist, and contained about 800,000 names, Christopher M. Piehota, the Terrorist Screening Center director, said in congressional testimony on Sept. 18, 2014. The no-fly list is a part of that database. It contains about 64,000 names, according to Piehota’s testimony.

So, while Clinton said the measure applied to suspected terrorists on the no-fly list, that’s only 64,000 names. It actually would have applied to well over 1 million people who are on government watch lists. Republicans defeated the amendment in early December

Edited by Highmark
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