Yesterday was an unusual day in the States’ House of Representatives.
In a dramatic showdown, Democrats took to the floor to protest, sitting and demanding a vote on gun regulation.
Things got heated at around 10:30PM, when the Republicans took back control of the floor – but Democrats turned it into a wild show.
If you happened to catch a live streaming of the showdown, you may be a little lost – but our friend over at Vox gave us a rundown of the weirdest things that happened last night:
- Most of the Democratic House caucus breaking out into a “We Shall Overcome” chant for several minutes, sprinkling reference to overcoming cloture amendments and passing gun control legislation. Outside the Capitol, well over 50 protesters led a song of “We Shall Overcome” and later a call and response of “No Bill, No Break!”
- Democratic House members shouting “Shame! Shame! Shame!” at the top of their lungs at House Speaker Paul Ryan.
- Ryan’s attempts to address the Democrats breaking down several times amid shout and chants from the floor. They chanted “No Bill, No Break!” as Ryan lamented the decline of “decorum in this institution to which we belong.”
- Capitol police asking people in the galleries to quiet down with the possibility of removing them.
- Democrats physically sitting on the floor in an apparent attempt to slow Republicans’s access to vote.
- Republicans sitting beyond a scrum of the Democrats interrupting speeches by interjecting criticisms. “Rule of law means order!,” one shouted as a Democratic House member tried speaking over him from the front of the chamber.
- Two members of the House of Representatives — Republican Louie Ghomert and Democrat Corrine Brown — screaming in each other’s faces just a few feet away from each other. (Some reporters said on Twitter that it looked as if they were about to get in a physical altercation.)
- Audible laughs from reporters breaking out in the House press gallery when one Democrat shouted, “This isn’t about partisan politics!”
- Police escorting out someone after Republicans complained about a gallery visitor who shouted something.
- Some Congress members brought food, pillows, and even sleeping bags, according to CNN.
Let’s just hope their actions bring positive reactions.
[source: vox&usatoday]