After more than 25 hours of chanting, protesting, and occupying the House floor, the House Democrats’ sit-in over gun control is over.
The House Democrats’ gun control sit-in just ended after nearly 26 hours
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.
The sit-in led to a chaotic night, where House Democrats yelled, “Shame! Shame!” at House Speaker Paul Ryan, sat down on the floor, and got into dramatic screaming matches in the middle of the night. While it wasn’t the first sit-in — House Republicans held one in 2008 on energy policy — it was arguably one of the most dramatic, helped by social media that spread the representatives’ words even when the cameras on the House floor were turned off.
Ryan called a recess early Thursday morning after a vote on a bill about the Zika virus. The House won’t be in session again until July 5.
But Democrats continued the sit-in for nearly 12 more hours, eventually ending it without a vote on the gun control measures they sought. The legislators walked out of the Capitol and were greeted by cheering crowds:
From here, presumably, they’re heading to recess. And although the sit-in didn’t succeed at getting a vote on the gun control measures House Democrats sought, it made a potent political statement that got a lot of attention and that could have ramifications for this fall’s elections. Lewis is promising that the action will resume when Congress returns:
