Every Democratic representative from Washington State has joined an occupation of the House of Representatives in Washington D.C. demanding a vote on gun regulations. The Atlantic has a blow-by-blow live-blog here.
Led in a literal sit-in by civil rights legend John Lewis (D-Ga), the occupiers include WA representatives Adam Smith, Suzan DelBene, Rick Larsen, Denny Heck, Derek Kilmer and Jim McDermott, according to their Twitter feeds.
I’m joining @RepJohnLewis & @HouseDems on the House floor to say #EnoughIsEnough. It’s time to act to #DisarmHate. #NoMoreSilence
— Rep. Suzan DelBene (@RepDelBene) June 22, 2016
I'm here on behalf the people of #WA10. #NoBillNoBreak #SitIn #DisarmHate pic.twitter.com/d8u4DhP91O
— Denny Heck (@RepDennyHeck) June 22, 2016
Also present are WA senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell.
Proud to be joining @HouseDemocrats to #holdthefloor. Today we will do this together. #Enough #NoBillNoBreak pic.twitter.com/N7PuuHgNet
— Sen. Maria Cantwell (@SenatorCantwell) June 22, 2016
Republicans have nixed the CSPAN live feed of the House, so Dems have taken to livestreaming from their phones using Periscope:
LIVE on #Periscope https://t.co/CtQ2XS0RHu
— Scott Peters (@ScottPetersSD) June 22, 2016
The sit-in began with a powerful speech from Lewis in which he decried federal inaction in the face of ongoing gun violence:
Again, for the latest updates, we recommend The Atlantic’s liveblog.
This post has been updated.