U.S. House Democrats end sit-in, vow to continue fighting for gun control

The microphones were dead. The TV camera feeds were off. Some of the roughly two dozen stragglers remaining on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives yawned, stretched, and sipped from paper cups.

Still, House Democrats kept talking. And by the time it was over, more than 24 hours later, they re-emerged into the sunshine, descending the steps of the U.S. Capitol, singing, "We shall overcome."

House Democrats ended a marathon sit-in shortly before 1 p.m. Thursday, after nearly 26 hours of speeches demanding action on tightening gun-control restrictions.

The stunning display of political theatre came a little more than a week following a mass shooting in Orlando that killed 49 people, the deadliest such incident in U.S. history.

"When is it going to stop? The murder, the killings, the crying, the pain, the suffering. This is America!" Illinois Democratic Congressman Bobby Rush said from the Capitol, flanked by survivors of gun violence and fellow lawmakers.

Rush, whose own son was gunned down in Chicago in 1999, said the "primal scream of my son's mother" was forever etched in his mind.

• U.S. Democrats in House hold hours-long protest for gun control bills
• Guns in the United States: By the numbers

"It's time to end this chorus of primal screams in our nation, and it's time to end it right now."

Democrats staged the sit-in after the Senate rejected four measures to control the sale of guns. The two strongest amendments proposed by Democrats were described as "common-sense" measures. One was the so-called "no fly, no buy" bill that would have barred anyone on the no-fly list from purchasing a gun; the other failed measure had called for expanding background checks for gun buyers.

On the floor of the House on Thursday morning, chants of, "No bill, no break!" broke out intermittently, a rallying cry to block the chamber from going into recess for the Fourth of July holiday without the gun-control vote. At around 3 a.m., House Speaker Ryan had managed to abruptly adjourn the session until July 5, leaving only a smattering of Democrats inside.

Still, they talked all through the night. By mid-morning on Thursday, some of the speakers' voices were hoarse. Without the aid of microphones, they were difficult to hear from the upper galleries, competing with light chatter and coughing from the chamber.

Pillows, blankets in the House

"Paul Ryan, our Speaker, has … turned the mic off," shouted Ed Perlmutter, as four smartphones perched on the backs of chairs near the front of the chamber recorded his statement, broadcasting live feeds via Periscope to C-SPAN.

"Don't turn off the mic anymore. Keep the cameras on. America wants a real debate, they want a debate on this subject," Perlmutter implored. He then proceeded to recite the names of people killed in the Denver suburbs he represents, in both the Aurora cinema and Columbine high school massacres.

Pillows and blankets were still draped over some chairs as a lineup of House Democrats rose to the floor to call for action on gun control. The sit-in, which began on Wednesday and stretched into the early hours of Thursday and into the next afternoon, was led by civil-rights icon and Georgia Congressman John Lewis.

C-SPAN, which does not control the cameras in the House, opted to broadcast a live online video stream of the sessions via the Periscope app after the chamber's TV cameras were shut by House Republicans.

In the early hours of Thursday morning, Lewis was surrounded by fellow House Democrats sitting on the House floor's blue carpet. Democratic House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi had declined a request to clear the room for a routine security sweep on Thursday morning, and bomb-detection security dogs sniffed around the lawmakers.

On Wednesday evening, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren was greeted with cheers when she brought Dunkin Donuts for her House colleagues.

U.S. Capitol tours continued, with guides pointing out details of the chamber's stained-glass ceiling and the Speaker's chair, as congressional Democrats standing just feet away described scenes of firearms-related tragedy in their home districts.

Ryan has characterized the protest as a publicity stunt.

But Barbara Thomas, who watched the proceedings from the upper gallery with her tour group, said she found the activism inspiring.

"When you go in and witness this, and hear the compassionate statements about the need for gun control, it really makes a difference," said Thomas, 62, and visiting from Houston with roughly 30 other members of Brentwood Baptist Church. "We were devastated by the shootings in Orlando, and it was important for our children to come in and be able to view this, and to understand why there is such discussion about gun restrictions."

Outside on the Capitol steps, Pelosi urged Ryan to allow a vote on the floor of the House for background checks and the no-fly, no-buy legislation. Moments of silence are not an acceptable substitutes for action, she said.

"Moment of silence? We want a moment of truth," she said, pledging to keep pushing for a vote on stricter legislation.

Democrats had tied the protest action symbolically to the 1960s civil rights movement. As the sit-in drew to a close, speakers yielded the floor to South Carolina Congressman James Clyburn, who, along with Lewis, helped organize demonstrations for civil rights.

Clyburn, turning to Lewis, gave the last word before the chamber finally emptied.

"John and I started out this journey in 1960 asking for the right to vote," he said, as his colleagues looked on, filming with their smartphones. "And here we are today, asking for the right to vote."