Bay Area Democrats Speak Out For Gun Control At House Sit-In Protest
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives staged a sit on Capitol Hill Wednesday night, demanding a vote on gun control.
Late Wednesday night, House Republicans tried to regain control of the floor, but to no avail.
House Speaker Paul Ryan tried to regain order, but was shouted down.
Bay Area Democrats are front and center in all this.
Members of Congress decided they'd had enough of getting nothing done. So they literally sat down on the House floor and have been trying to force a vote on gun control. The Senate Democrats held a similar action just days after the mass shooting in Orlando.
Congressional Democrats continued their all-day sit-in late into the evening Wednesday, chanting, "No bill, No break."
Ryan gaveled the Congress back into session and tried to gain control by bringing up separate issues to vote.
He was drowned out by members of Congress and the session was quickly closed. The C-SPAN cameras were ordered off, so the only video of the sit-in was coming from cellphones sending live video through the Internet.
A short time later, some Republicans members started yelling back.
It looked like it was going to get physical for a while before it calmed down.
Congressman John Lewis, who once famously marched with Martin Luther King Jr., led the spontaneous protest.
Bay Area Democrats joined in big numbers.
U.S. Rep. Mike Honda (D-CA) said, "Today we're breaking the rules"
U.s. Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) said, "I heard it from Democrats … I heard it from Republicans … they don't care who gets the credit. They just believe that the most dangerous people shouldn't have access to the most dangerous weapons."
Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA) held a photo of Reggina Jeffries; recently murdered in Oakland.
"I also have pictures of other young people killed in my district ... Antonio Ramos ... Yvon Ellis, who my nephew was with when he was killed in Oakland last year," Lee said.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), said "Our members are gathered on the floor of the house in protest … Because we truly believe … that if there were a vote, that we would win the vote."
One of the gun bills is called "no fly, no buy" and aims to stop those on the terrorist watchlist, from buying a gun. Speaker Ryan says that's unconstitutional and called the protest a "publicity stunt."