Maryland Democrats Urge GOP to Vote on Gun Control

Image: Sen. Barbara Mikulski, right, joined Rep. Chris Van Hollen, center, and Rep. Donna Edwards on Wednesday for the sit-in on the House floor (from Mikulski's Twitter feed).

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A sit-in protest by Democrats in the House of Representatives to force a vote on gun control measures finally ended Thursday after nearly 26 hours of speeches from the House floor shown live on social media, according to media reports.

The Democrats stayed in the chamber, continuing their sit-in through Thursday morning and giving speeches that were streamed live on social media. Sen. Barbara Mikulski tweeted photos of herself on the House floor with fellow Democrats to encourage them, MyMCMedia reported.

In his speech from the House floor, Rep. Chris Van Hollen, who is the Democratic candidate to replace the retiring Mikulski, said the chamber has done nothing but offer a "moment of silence" each time a mass shooting has taken innocent lives, from the 2012 carnage in Aurora, Colo., and Newtown, Conn., to the latest massacre in Orlando.

And he accused the National Rifle Association of taking control of the House floor on this issue, "lock, stock and barrel. That ends today."

Both of Maryland's senators and all but one of the Free State's representatives joined the Capitol Hill sit-in. They included Democratic senators Barbara Mikulski and Ben Cardin, and seven of eight House members: Steny Hoyer, Elijah Cummings, Van Hollen, C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger, John Sarbanes, Donna Edwards and John Delaney, MyMCMedia reported Thursday.

Rep. Andy Harris, Maryland's lone Republican in Congress, did not participate in the sit-in, according to media reports. He represents the Eastern Shore and Baltimore's northern suburbs.

Baltimore Rep. Elijah Cummings tweeted: "We have got to say this is NOT about us. This is BIGGER than us! #NoFlyNoBuy #HoldTheFloor."

Democrats led by Rep. John Lewis, a 1960s civil rights leader, launched the Capitol Hill protest Wednesday morning to force the House to act on gun control following the June 12 mass shooting in Orlando, Fla., in which 49 people were killed at a gay nightclub. The shooter was shot and killed by police in the incident.

In their sit-in, the House Democrats demanded votes on measures to expand background checks and keep people on the no-fly list from getting guns, radio station WTOP reported. The Senate last week rejected similar measures.

But House Republicans, who hold a majority, voted at 3:15 a.m. to adjourn after passing a bill to fund research for combating the Zika virus, according to media reports. In effect, they closed the House for business until after the Fourth of July holiday.

“Today I joined with House Democrats in calling for ‘No break, no vote.’ The Democrats want to offer a bill to close the terrorist loophole, so that if you’re on the No Fly List, you should not be able to buy a gun, Mikulski said in a statement.

“Today we’re protesting because the House of Representatives can’t even get a vote or a debate," she said. "Instead, Democrats are being shut out from even being able to bring up their ‘No Fly, No Buy’ bill. Instead, House Republicans are planning to go out on Friday for yet another vacation. They’re saying to Speaker [Paul] Ryan, ‘Please don’t take another vacation. We cannot take a vacation on our responsibility to protect the American people.’

“We have learned from history that silence in the face of injustice makes this House complicit in that injustice," Van Hollen said. “We know these common sense measures will protect the lives of the American people. Will they save everybody? No. will they reduce the heartache and the death toll? Yes, they will."

To see a video of Van Hollen's speech, click here.

Republicans seem no closer to taking a vote on the gun control measures. Democrats promise the fight will continue.