Democratic members of Congress have been staging a sit-in on the floor of the House of Representatives for three hours to demand action on gun violence. In response, the presiding chair called a recess — shutting off the cameras that broadcast the action on C-SPAN and HouseLive.gov.
The cameras are still off in the House chamber. But you can watch the sit-in on this live stream.
Libby Nelson was Vox’s editorial director, politics and policy, leading coverage of how government action and inaction shape American life. Libby has more than a decade of policy journalism experience, including at Inside Higher Ed and Politico. She joined Vox in 2014.
But in response, the members of Congress turned to social media. You can watch the live stream, for now, from a Periscope broadcast by Rep. Scott Peters, a California Democrat:
LIVE on #Periscope https://t.co/CtQ2XS0RHu
— Scott Peters (@ScottPetersSD) June 22, 2016
Even C-SPAN is relying on this stream for its coverage:
This is AMAZING—@cspan using periscope to get around the turned off cameras on house floor pic.twitter.com/ktW9WMDQsH
— ɹɐʌɐɥɔɾɐ (@ajchavar) June 22, 2016
Turning off the cameras when the party out of power tries a stunt isn’t unique to Republicans — Democrats did it when Republicans chanted “drill, baby, drill” to protest a House bill in 2008, as CNN’s Dan Berman pointed out. The difference is that now it’s easier for politicians to bypass that by using social media.
