Rep. Jared Huffman Among Democrats Staging Gun Control Sit-In on House Floor

June 22, 2016

Rep. Jared Huffman, our congressman, is among those estimated 70 members of the House of Representatives’ Democratic Caucus staging a sit-in on the floor of their chamber today. They’re protesting the House leadership’s refusal to bring gun control legislation to a vote in the wake of the Orlando massacre.

Here’s Huffman’s statement on the subject, from his Facebook page:

I’m proud to join Congressman John Lewis & House Dems in a protest on the House floor as we urge an immediate vote on common-sense gun control legislation that has been stalled for years in Congress. A moment of silence is an insufficient response to tragedies like Orlando; Congress cannot just sit idly by. I urge Speaker Ryan to do the right thing and allow for a real debate on how to solve our country’s gun violence epidemic.

Rep. Mike Thompson, who represented Humboldt County in the House before redistricting, is also with the protestors:

Spoke on the House floor w/ @HouseDemocrats staging a sit-in until @SpeakerRyan gives us a vote to prevent gun violence. #NoBillNoBreak

The protest started with a fiery speech from Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), a former leader of the civil rights movement.

The cameras in the House of Representatives have been turned off, so pictures from the protest are in short supply. Huffman, Lewis and others are tweeting updates from the floor, and they and their supporters are using a variety of hashtags for the action — #NoBillNoBreak, #GoodTrouble and others.

The protesters just “voted” to suspend the rules that forbid the use of personal cameras or recording devices on the House floor. And so:

This is what House Republicans don't want you to see! From the House floor. #NoBillNoBreak


Source: by Hank Sims