jun 22, 2016 - 2016 United States House of Representatives sit-in

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The 2016 United States House of Representatives sit-in began on June 22nd, 2016, when members of the House Democratic Caucus, led by Georgia Representative John Lewis, Massachusetts Representative Katherine Clark, and Illinois Representative Robin Kelly, declared their intention to remain on the floor of the United States House of Representatives until its Republican Speaker, Paul Ryan, allowed votes on gun control legislation in the aftermath of the June 12th Orlando nightclub shooting. The sit-in was staged by about 60 legislators. Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, and Hillary Clinton showed their support via Twitter.

The sit-in, which was quickly organized and caught House Republicans off-guard, resulted in the Speaker pro tempore, Dan Webster, ordering the House into recess, with the cameras which provide video coverage of the chamber's daily proceedings to news networks including C-SPAN consequently shut off. Democrats refused to leave the floor during this recess and instead gave speeches, streamed online to over a million individuals via Periscope and Facebook, demanding Congressional action to combat gun violence.

The House was reconvened by Ryan later on June 22nd at 10:00 p.m. to consider a presidential veto message, and again at 2:30 a.m. on June 23rd to vote on a bill to fund the Department of Veterans Affairs, military construction, and the country's response to the outbreak of the Zika virus, both times to chaotic scenes in the chamber. The House was then adjourned until July 5th, without having taken action on any of the measures demanded by Democrats. Despite this, many Democrats insisted they would remain on the floor regardless, with California congresswoman Maxine Waters saying she would remain in place "until hell freezes over".

A group of Democrats ultimately occupied the floor through the night, only leaving on the afternoon of June 23rd, with Lewis as the last speaker before the sit-in's conclusion. None of the measures demanded by the occupying members were given a vote, but Democrats insisted that they would continue to pursue gun control legislation.

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