#HoldTheFloor: Democrats Staging Historic Sit-In To Force Vote On Gun Control

Over 100 Democrats are holding a sit-in at the House of Representatives over gun violence, and it’s just entered its seventh hour.

If members do not leave the floor and no compromise is reached, it’ll be up to Speaker Paul Ryan to decide whether to seek to clear the floor and/or sanction members, or to keep the House in recess and wait out the issue.

Georgia congressmen John Lewis – one of the last living icons of the civil rights movement – deployed the impromptu sit-in (a highly unusual event) in an attempt to force a vote on gun control. “Sometimes you have to do something out of the ordinary, sometimes you have to make a way out of no way,” he said.

Sometimes you have to get in the way. You have to make some noise by speaking up and speaking out against injustice & inaction #goodtrouble

— John Lewis (@repjohnlewis) June 22, 2016

What is the tipping point? How many more mothers? How many more fathers need to shed tears of grief, before we do something? #goodtrouble

— John Lewis (@repjohnlewis) June 22, 2016

‘Round about 40 House Democrats began the sit-in, but they were quickly joined by reinforcements from the Senate side, including Elizabeth Warren, Bob Menendez, Sherrod Brown, Mark Warner and Patrick Leahy.

Nowhere I’d rather spend my bday than the House floor w/ @repjohnlewis for gun control. #NoBillNoBreak #goodtrouble pic.twitter.com/nTzrO9c0Fk

— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) June 22, 2016

Representative Keith Ellison was called into the sit-in by his mum. He was in a meeting when his colleagues began tweeting #NoBillNoBreak, but quickly joined them – posting the cute-as-shit memo to Facebook.