Like their GOP colleagues in the Senate, House Republicans have demonstrated that they care more for the profit of gun manufacturers than the lives of their fellow Americans. They continue to spit in the face of about 85% of the public, who want universal background checks on all gun purchases and who want those on the terrorist watch list and no-fly list to be banned from purchasing guns.
Those Republican congresspeople say they are protecting the Second Amendment and the right of citizens to own a gun. That is a LIE! neither universal background checks nor banning terrorists from buying a gun violates the Second Amendment -- and neither would bar law-abiding Americans from purchasing or owning a firearm. They would simply keep terrorists and criminals from legally buying a gun.
But the House Republican leadership have refused to even bring those bills to the House floor for a vote. They don't want to have to explain to their constituents why they voted to allow terrorists and criminals to continue buying guns legally.
House Democrats have had enough of this GOP refusal to take any action on gun violence. Led by civil rights activist and American hero Rep. John Lewis, House Democrats staged a sit-in on the floor of the House of Representatives -- and they have vowed to maintain that sit-in until the House leadership allows a vote on the gun bills.
Speaker Ryan was embarrassed by the sit-in, and did his best to quell the sit-in. He even ordered the microphones and cameras to be shut off in an effort to keep the American people from witnessing what was happening in the House through C-SPAN. His efforts failed. C-SPAN (to their credit) broadcast a feed of the sit-in from Rep. Scott Peters (using the Periscope app), and when they app starting to freeze due to so many people watching, they switched to a live feed from Facebook by Rep. Beto O'Rourke (D-Texas). C-SPAN is to be commended for bringing Americans this newsworthy event over the objections of the House GOP leadership.
And the House Democrats are to be commended for their actions to protect the lives and safety of their fellow Americans (and so are the Democratic senators who joined them in the sit-in). They all make me very proud to be a Democrat.