Bedlam erupts during House sit-in by Democrats over gun control

WASHINGTON — A Democratic sit-in on the House floor demanding votes on gun-control legislation led to a remarkable scene of pandemonium and a late-night confrontation Wednesday when Speaker Paul D. Ryan was shouted down after briefly regaining control.

Democrats pressed against the speaker's dais, waving signs with the names of gun victims and chanting "No bill! No break!" as Ryan repeatedly banged his gavel in an attempt to restore order.

When Ryan left the speaker's chair, Democrats shouted, "Shame! Shame! Shame!"

The standoff continued until early Thursday when Ryan, over Democrats' objections, took the remarkable step of calling a vote on a major appropriations bill in the wee hours and without debate. He then adjourned the House, with no votes scheduled until July 5.

The House approved the bill, which includes $1.1 billion in emergency financing to fight the mosquito-borne Zika virus — and more than $80 billion in other government spending — by a vote of 239-171, shortly after 3 a.m.

Earlier, there were scenes of chaos as Republicans tried to resume regular business. At one point Democrats began singing "We Shall Overcome" — altering the lyrics to say "We shall pass a bill some day" — as Republicans shouted in outrage.

The chaos was set off with the sit-in around noon when Democrats reiterated their demand for a vote on gun measures before Congress began its weeklong July Fourth recess.

Democrats — who do not have enough strength in either the House or Senate to pass legislation on their own — have resorted to spectacle to highlight their anger over the failure by Congress to take any action to tighten the nation's gun-control laws.

Ryan, in an interview on CNN, dismissed the sit-in as a publicity stunt.

The Democrats began their latest push, including a 15-hour filibuster last week by Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., after the June 12 massacre at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida.

Shortly after the sit-in began Wednesday, Republicans declared a recess, cutting off regular business — as well as the live television feed of floor proceedings.

The Democrats were left in control of the chamber, where they gave impassioned speeches and skirted the television blackout by using Twitter's Periscope service to broadcast their efforts.

And when Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, tried to confront the chanting Democrats, he was restrained by aides and colleagues.

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As the House Democrats' chants rose to a crescendo on Wednesday night, many Republicans stood watching in apparent amazement, and some with undisguised alarm. The House Democratic leader, Nancy Pelosi, by contrast, arrived on the floor with an air of calm, and with evident satisfaction, surveyed her rank-and-file members as they continued their protest, which began before noon.

Typical of the more restrained and decorous Senate, Murphy's 15-hour marathon of speeches was derided by Republicans as a pointless "talkathon" but there were no confrontations and no shouting. Under Senate rules, any one senator who is recognized to speak can hold the floor until relinquishing it.

The House gives the minority no such rights and so Democrats resorted to an insurrection. Shortly after the sit-in began on Wednesday, Republicans quickly declared a recess, cutting off regular business — as well as the live television feed of floor proceedings, which operates only when the House is in session.

Essentially the Democrats were left in control of the chamber, where they gave a series of impassioned speeches, and used Twitter's live-feed Periscope service to broadcast their efforts — a violation of House rules, which bar any cameras or other electronic devices on the floor.

C-SPAN picked up the feed and broadcast as if the House was in session, albeit with the unavoidably shaky camerawork by lawmakers using their cellphones.

"We will not leave the floor of this House until this Congress takes action!" Rep. Kathy D. Castor, D-Fla., declared.

Ryan, in an interview on CNN earlier in the day, dismissed the Democrats' action as a "publicity stunt."

Yet even by the hyperpartisan standards of modern Washington, it was a brazen disruption that underscored the outrage many lawmakers have expressed about the failure of Congress to act in the aftermath of numerous mass shootings.

In 2008, House Republicans, then in the minority, held a "quasi session" during summer recess to protest the Democrats' refusal to hold votes on energy policy amid sharply rising gasoline prices. The Republicans met in a darkened chamber, a point they recalled with no small amount of outrage amid Democrats' complaints on Wednesday. A key difference, though, was that the House was in recess then and no business was interrupted as the protest continued for several days.

On Wednesday, Democrats short-circuited an active legislative session, for which Republicans had scheduled votes on a number of measures, including amendments to the annual Financial Services and General Government appropriations bill. By late afternoon, Republicans said they still intended to conduct business, but the Democrats showed no sign of relenting.

Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., seemed to sum up their collective resolve when she said, "I'm prepared to stand here until hell freezes over."

Pelosi said her caucus was seeking votes on measures similar to two Democratic proposals that failed to advance in the Senate.

One of those sought to ban gun sales to people on the government's terrorism watch list, while the second would expand and toughen background checks for gun buyers. Those two measures were defeated on Monday in the Senate, along with two Republican alternatives.

Rep. John Lewis of Georgia, a hero to many Democrats because of his role in the civil rights movement, initiated the protest on Wednesday.

"We have to occupy the floor of the House until there's action," he said.

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Congress has long been deadlocked over tightening the nation's gun laws. But outrage and frustration have grown since the massacre in Orlando, Florida on June 12 and a number of other mass shootings in recent years.

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, has drafted a narrower compromise measure. But despite some bipartisan backing, that proposal also seems in danger of failing for lack of sufficient Republican support.

Even if all Senate Democrats and the independents who caucus with them voted in favor, which is hardly assured, at least 14 Republicans would need to agree to reach the 60-vote threshold for advancing the measure. Collins still seemed far short of that number on Wednesday.

Democrats also pushed the gun issue at a hearing of the House Appropriations Committee, putting forward an amendment to the annual homeland security spending bill that would bar individuals suspected of terrorist activities from purchasing firearms, similar to a Democratic measure that failed in the Senate on Monday.

"I just want to make it very clear that I'd rather my child be inconvenienced than dead," said Rep. Nita M. Lowey of New York, the committee's top Democrat.

The amendment failed, with every Republican and two Democrats voting against it.