There have been many things that have arisen in the news world in the last few weeks. Things such as the tragic shooting at the Pulse Night Club, The Brexit of Britain leaving the European Union and other stories. Yet one that may have slipped past the eyes of most is the Democratic sit-in that took place on June 22 and 23. This movement was not only a bold step for the democratic party but a monumental step in the legislative process. There are a few aspects of this that I would like to bring to the forefront.
First was the fact of how monumental this sit in was. This was the first Congressional sit-In in eight years. These things are very rare because they are used as a last resort measure to push an issue on the floor. The last sit-In that took place was over an energy proposal which only lasted a mere five hours compared to the 24 hours sit in that recently took place. Much like the last there was strong opposition to this sit-In and it pushed to certain actions being taken in order to try and hush the voices of those leading this.
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The topic was in response to the shooting at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando Florida. I would like to take a moment and offer my condolences to all those affected and although these are just simple words I pray that they reach those affected and give them comfort and peace to carry on. On June 19 and 20, gun control issues were pushed but failed to garner the support necessary to be put into effect. On June 21 democratic leader and Georgian Congressmen John Lewis accepted the responsibility to be the leader of a sit-In on the Congress Floor.
Shortly after the House convened for business on June 22, Lewis and other members occupied the well of the house, that is the middle of the floor in front of the Speakers Bench. They promised that they would stay there until action was taken on gun control.
Once democrats began to occupy the floor the cameras of the house, which are under the control of the majority party, in this case, being the republicans, were shut off. Yet instead off stopping their actions due to no publicity, many pulled out devices such as phones and tablets and began streaming the sit-In through the periscope. This action alone is actually against the rules and regulations of the house. Around noon order was attempted to be gained but was quickly drowned out by democratic voices.
Multiple times republican leaders attempted to restore order but could not. Many Republicans instead of seeing this as an attempt to push action on an issue saw it more as a publicity stunt. The order was again attempted at ten o clock pm, eleven hours after Democrats had seized control of the floor and was again drowned out by angry protest.
Democrats were trying to push for action to be taken before the house was dismissed for the holiday. Unfortunately at 2:30 am the House was adjourned until July 5th. Occupying Democrats finally left the floor by early afternoon. Although no action was taken Lewis defined the entire sit in as a struggle that the Democrats were going to win. One thing that I find extremely interesting is the fact of no action being taken.
To us as simple citizens we think that action could simply have been taken on these issues, yet we do not fully understand the congressional process. Will action be taken on these topics, we're not sure. Will the Democrats hold another sit-in to further push action is unknown as well? One thing we can be sure of is the fact that one way or another some sort of action will be taken on the topic of Gun Control.
