Cicilline, Langevin join sit-in to demand action on gun violence

U.S. REP. DAVID N. Cicilline is shown during a sit-in on Wednesday on the floor of the House of Representatives, which was held to demand action on gun violence. On the left is U.S. Rep. John Lewis, who led the sit-in effort. / COURTESY CONGRESSMAN DAVID CICILLINE
U.S. REP. DAVID N. Cicilline is shown during a sit-in on Wednesday on the floor of the House of Representatives, which was held to demand action on gun violence. On the left is U.S. Rep. John Lewis, who led the sit-in effort. / COURTESY CONGRESSMAN DAVID CICILLINE

(Updated 2:48 p.m.)
WASHINGTON – U.S. Reps. David N. Cicilline and James R. Langevin joined a sit-in demonstration on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives Wednesday led by U.S. Rep. John Lewis to demand action on gun violence.
The group of Democrats is demanding that Speaker Paul Ryan keep the House in session through its planned recess so that it can debate and vote on gun violence legislation.
The group wants a vote on expanded background checks and legislation preventing gun sales to suspected terrorists.
The group aired their concerns in a letter to Ryan. It reads in part: “As the worst mass shooting in our nation’s history has underscored, our country cannot afford to stand by while this Congress continues to be paralyzed by politics. We urge you to lead the House into action and work with both sides of the aisle to pass commonsense solutions to keep American children and families safe.

“The question before us is, what is this Congress waiting for? Over the last 12 years, gun-related crimes claimed more American lives than AIDS, war and illegal drug overdoses combined. Since Newtown, tens of thousands of lives have been lost to this deadly crisis. The number of bills that have been debated and passed by this Congress to prevent such deaths is zero.”
In addition to Cicilline, Langevin and Lewis, the letter was signed by U.S. Reps. Katherine Clark, Gregory Meeks, John Larson, Robin Kelly, John Yarmuth, Chellie Pingree, Stacey Plaskett, Michael Capuano, Rosa DeLauro, Kathy Castor, Bonnie Watson-Coleman, Steve Cohen, Peter Welch, Bill Pascrell, Joyce Beatty and Joseph Kennedy.

Cicilline said he wants those on the “no fly” FBI terrorist watch list to be prevented from buying guns, as well as universal background checks to be required on every firearm sale. He said assault rifles “belong in a battlefield” as they are “weapons of war that are designed to kill as many people as possible as quickly as possible.”
He said someone on the FBI terrorist watch list can go into a gun shop and still walk out with an assault weapon.
He said he also will continue to fight to reinstate the assault weapons ban.
“A moment of silence is not enough. We need a moment of sustained action in this chamber,” Cicilline said.
Gun control is back in the spotlight in the aftermath of the Orlando, Fla., nightclub shooting on June 12 in which a gunman armed with a semi-automatic assault rifle killed 49 people.

Democrats staged the sit-in on the U.S. House floor in an effort to force Republicans to allow a vote on a plan to ban suspected terrorists from buying guns.

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“Now is the time for us to find a way to dramatize it, to make it real,” Lewis of Georgia said on the floor while surrounded by fellow lawmakers from his party. “What is the tipping point? Are we blind? Can we see? How many more mothers, how many fathers need to shed tears of grief before we do something?”

Langevin said expanding background checks and prohibiting individuals on the No-Fly List from purchasing weapons are “long overdue.”

“As the victim of an accidental shooting, I know firsthand the devastating effects that guns can have on a life, even when being handled by experts. I was lucky. I lived. The 49 innocent people killed in Orlando – and the thousands killed by guns in our country each year – did not have that chance, and their families and friends deserve better. The vast majority of Americans support responsible gun reforms, like universal background checks, and those constituents deserve a vote.

“My colleagues on the other side of the aisle might disagree with my position, but at the very least, we should be having a robust debate on the House floor. If they believe that an individual with suspected terrorist ties, who is on the no fly list, should still be able to purchase weapons in this country, I’d very much like to hear their rationale on that vote. Our constituents deserve to know what we believe and how we will vote, and today’s sit-in sends the message that for Orlando, for Sandy Hook, and for the countless other innocent lives lost, thoughts and prayers and moments of silence are no longer enough. This issue is not going away,” Langevin said in a statement.

Rhode Island lawmakers approved one bill this session that targets gun control, a measure that strengthens the process to compel people convicted of domestic violence to relinquish their guns within 24 hours.

Bloomberg News contributed to this report.

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