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Democrats Stage 'Sit-In' On House Floor 'As Long As It Takes' Demanding Gun Control Vote

  • by: Alan Duke
  • (Wed, 22 Jun 2016 16:12:31 Z)

House Democrats demanding a vote on gun control legislation vow to continue their sit-in on the House floor "as long as it takes to get action," Rep. Dan Kildee said Wednesday after about three hours into protest. "We don't have any plans to stop."

Rep. John Lewis, a Georgia Democrat, led the protest on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives demanding a vote on "common sense" gun control legislation Wednesday morning. Lewis, who led sit-ins as a leader of the U.S. civil rights movement in the 1960s, cited mass shootings at Sandy Hook and in Orlando in a plea for a vote.

About two dozen other Democratic members of congress joined him around the well of the House and then sat with him on the floor in the aisles. This began before the actual session started, but continued as it was gaveled to order. A recess was quickly called and C-Span cameras were turned off by the Republican leadership.

Although C-Span was dark, some members used smartphones to send live video to the world via social media, including Twitter's Periscope through their @HouseDemocrats Twitter account.

Democratic leaders also held a news conference to explain their plans and demands.

About the author:

Editor-in-Chief Alan Duke co-founded Lead Stories after ending a 26-year career with CNN, where he mainly covered entertainment, current affairs and politics. Duke closely covered domestic terrorism cases for CNN, including the Oklahoma City federal building bombing, the UNABOMBER and search for Southeast bomber Eric Robert Rudolph. CNN moved Duke to Los Angeles in 2009 to cover the entertainment beat. Duke also co-hosted a daily podcast with former HLN host Nancy Grace, "Crime Stories with Nancy Grace" and hosted the podcast series "Stan Lee's World: His Real Life Battle with Heroes & Villains." You'll also see Duke in many news documentaries, including on the Reelz channel, CNN and HLN.

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