BREAKING: Modern Technology Ruins Paul Ryan’s Attempt To End Dems’ Sit-In Over Gun Violence

By
Liberal America
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Earlier this morning at about 11:25 a.m. EST, Democratic Representatives led by civil rights activist Representative John Lewis of Georgia seized the House floor in the name of stopping gun violence, and in the hopes of forcing House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) to bring the “No Fly No Buy” and the Universal Background Check bills to the floor for a vote.

The Democratic lawmakers staged a sit in, and they’re not leaving until Speaker Ryan gives them the vote they and the American people want, or until the police drag them out. Most of the Senate Democrats have joined them on the floor, including Senator and presidential candidate, Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).

 

Both Sens. Sanders and Warren are widely held as leaders of the progressive movement, and routinely rail against gun violence.

Speaker Ryan Tries To Silence House Dems

Initially broadcast live by CSpan, Speaker Ryan first ordered the cameras turned away from the representatives sitting on the floor. When that didn’t stop the Democratic Representatives sitting-in, the speaker then ordered the cameras and microphones off, and recessed business for the day, pending a recall.

As few representatives pointed out via Twitter, Speaker Ryan apparently forgot that we live in the 21st century – that Twitter and Periscope are a way of life.

Democracy And Freedom of Speech Prevails

Courtesy of Representative Scott Peters (D-Calif.), who started live-streaming via his personal Periscope account. Reassuring viewers it’s not their producers’ fault that the camera on the House floor went dark, CSpan producers began broadcasting the live Periscope stream to its audience instead.

Republican Representative Mark Walker of south Carolina, among other republican representatives, called Rep. John Lewis and the sit-in a “disgrace,” but, as a Daily Kos writer so elegantly put it:

“Rep. Walker appears to be unaware that former Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee chairman John Lewis, Freedom Rider, man who spoke alongside Martin Luther King Jr. on the day King gave his I Have a Dream speech, man whose skull was fractured by police beatings on Bloody Sunday, may know a little something about what the civil rights sit-ins were about.”

Gun Safety Is A Publicity Stunt?

Speaker Ryan actually left the House after he tried and failed to shut House Democrats down – they decided this was too important an issue to be silent. Speaker Ryan said in a statement to CNN’s Wolf Blitzer that:

“This is nothing more than a publicity stunt … This is not about a solution to a problem. This is about trying to get attention.”

When did fighting for American lives via common sense gun safety measures become a publicity stunt?  When the NRA bought and paid for Speaker Ryan’s loyalty, and the loyalty of at least a few dozen other Congressional Republicans.

Speaking of the NRA, the organization released a statement about the sit-in, and called Rep. Lewis and House Democrats terrorists and criminals. As Rep. Alma Adams said,

“NRA… Get the Hell out of the way!”

The floor broke out in applause, and it started sounding more like a real sit-in, instead of the polite yielding of their time and of the floor representatives usually do.

#NoBillNoBreak

That was when than the House of Representatives, and representatives began talking to Speaker Ryan directly, chanting “No Fly No Buy,”  and “No Bill, No Break.”

One by one, each representative stands to speak about their constituents’ wants, needs, and fears regarding gun violence in their districts. With each speech comes a more impassioned response and cheering.

The words coming out of the mouths of the representatives – even Debbie Wasserman Shultz, whom many progressives want removed as Democratic National Committee Chair over the way she’s acted towards the Sanders Campaign during the Democratic primaries, couldn’t hold back how proud she is of her fellow representatives taking a stand on gun violence.

Mr. Speaker, Where Are You?

Rep. John Garamendi had one of the more powerful speeches so far. He said:

“Mr. Speaker, where the hell are you? Come back to your chair Mr. Speaker … Mr. Speaker, you’re chair is empty. I don’t believe your heart is empty. I beleive you care about Americans … About the violence in our Country …

After a story about constituents in his district affected by the craziness of gun violence, Rep. Garamendi continued by passionately demanding Speaker Ryan come back to his chair,

“Mr. Speaker Give us a vote. Give us the opportunity, Mr. Speaker, to do our responsibility. For the safety of Americans … Mr. Speaker take your chair! Give us a vote on the safe gun legislation. Universal background checks! What’s wrong with that? Where did we go amiss? What is radical about that? Nothing! The American people want it. The American people want Universal background checks … Are we ready for that, Mr. Speaker?

“Come back to your chair, Mr. Speaker. Come back … There’s a [unintelligible] path of safety for all of us, for all of our citizens.”

“The insanity that we should have a no fly list for terrorists and suspected terrorists. You can’t get on an airplane, but more than 2,000 people on that list have been able to buy a gun. This is not only crazy, it is downright dangerous. Mr. Speaker, where are you? Where are you Mr. speaker? are you willing to meet? Are you willing to keep Americans safe? Or are you hiding Mr. Speaker from the responsibilities. and duties that this house gave you?

“We want a vote! We demand a vote! And we will be here till we get a vote Mr. Speaker!”

And with that, Rep. Garamendi left the floor with tears streaming to grand applause.

As House Democrats continue to speak into the night, and Republicans are reportedly planning to re-take the House, Rep. Scott continues to live-stream the sit-in via Periscope, and you can view it live here:

@ScottPetersSD

Representative Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas) is streaming live as well, but via Facebook Live here.

View a CSpan interview with Rep. Lewis, who planned the sit-in:

Featured Image: Screenshot Via Lisa B. Twitter.

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