Amazed. Proud. Excited.
These are just some of the feelings expressed by Kossacks as we watched US House Democrats stage a sit-in protest to demand action on common sense gun legislation. They chanted “No Bill, no break!” and sang “We Shall Overcome” with customised lyrics:
We shall overcome
We shall overcome
We shall pass a bill someday
We’ll overcome hate
I do believe
We shall pass a bill someday
House Democrats had been mulling over the concept of a protest for a few days. Out of those discreet discussions came the “No Bill, no break” chant and placards printed with the names of gun violence victims. The notion of framing their protest as a sit-in is credited to Rep Katherine Clark (MA-05) who then took her idea to Rep John Lewis. He made it happen in spectacular fashion.
Outside the Capitol Building, a rapidly expanding crowd chanted “Do your job!” and “Shame on you!”
At first reporters inside were unaware of the crowd. As Jennifer Bendery from Huffington Post tweeted:
- Wow-- HUGE crowd outside the House chamber shouting "do your job!" Had no idea they were here.
Bendery remained outside for some time to report on who came out to speak to them and the crowd’s response. She tweeted:
- John Lewis and a few other Dems just came outside and talked to protesters. Crowd went bananas.
All those who spoke to the crowd, including Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, vowed to fight on and thanked them for their support.
Now it is our turn.
Now we can applaud them, bolster their resolve and add our voices to theirs as the House Democrats continue their protest when the 114th session resumes on July 5.
If your House Rep is a Democrat, please call or email their office and thank them for protesting and prevailing and making us all proud! If your Rep is Republican, then please call Rep Katherine Clark or Rep John Lewis or Minority leader Nancy Pelosi. Let’s make sure they are overwhelmed by messages of support for the next couple of days then again when they return to DC on July 5.
Some Californians got in early:
Find your Representative’s phone number by going to the official Directory of Representatives which is organised alphabetically. (It also has a handy search function that allows you to discover who your House Rep is by entering your zip code.) Click on your Rep’s name and you will be redirected to their website which will have a contact section that is likely to include an email pro forma.
For information about what your Rep might have contributed to the protest speeches and messages, visit David Smith’s Twitter feed. He’s The Guardian’s Washington correspondent and very helpfully he compiled comments from as many different sources as he could.
We’re accustomed to contacting Reps when we’re urging them to do the right thing; now that they are, let’s show our appreciation. Let’s tell them “We approve this message.”