constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue. it dramatized the issue a can no longer be ignored. part of the work of the nonviolent resisters may sound rather shocking. i must confess. i'm not afraid of the word 'tension." provided the king answer to that order as to why the democratic caucus took to well and, took to the hoursent the last 18 1/2

protesting and demanding change. back.d [applause] >> i want to start by reading a few names. this is my introduction to mass violence.rgun 29, teacher'sl, aide. principal extraordinaire. teacherse murphy, 52, aide. 56, schoolck,

psychologist. teacher.soto, 27, 6.rlotte bacon, age daniel bardon, age 7. olivia, age 6. josephine shay, age 7. jill, age 6. madeleine shue, age 6. catherine hubbard, age 6. chase kowalski, age 7. jeffrey lewis, age 6. age 6.rquez green, james, age 6.

.race mcdonald, age 6 age 6. emily parker, age 6. jack hinto, age 6. noah, age 6. 6.roline, age .essica, age 6 avil richman, age 6. benjamin wheeler, age 6. 6.ison wyatt, age 0hose brave educators and 2 first graders were gunned down gun whoerican with a

never should have had one. voting in my pocket is a card. this is our sacred duty, to protect and defend the constitution of the united states and to work with our colleagues from across this country and cast our vote for laws to do that. thiscard is meaningless on subject. 3 1/2e been denied years ago. we've not had one single vote, not even a hearing on a single bill dealing with gun violence prevention. not one. when the speaker of the house

say this is a city stung, i tell that to the new town families. tell that to the orlando families. tell that to the 100,000 americans families who have loved ones die in the last 3 1/2 years. that is not a publicity stunt. it is a crisis. it demands that this house take action. we will continue to work to ensure that we fulfill our duty to the american people. seell tell you out there we growing numbers of americans who understand it is the responsibility of their elected officials, their responsibility

to cast votes to protect the american people. iam list either passion -- forifted up either passion meaningful action to save lives. thank you for your courage, your and commitment to the best of public service, and to the american people. youryou -- thank you for commitment so our democracy works better for all of us. wns, i hope it will be a new day of action and a new day of power for the american people to see how a true democracy works. thank you.

[applause] >> i would like to start by leader. -- the i marvel at how you are among the last to leave and the first to arrive. [applause] i would like to thank miss clark, john lewis. i thank you because you had an idea. but there is no shortage of ideas. we have good ideas.

we do not always have people with the various to follow-through on the ideas. withoutthe courage going through some drawn-out process, let's take this to the floor of the house, before the people of the united states of america. and for that i thank you should be complemented. [applause] madame speaker, i had a reporter approach me and do if yout will you do not get the bill to the floor? my response was, i take comfort in knowing i am doing the right

thing. i take great comfort in knowing i am doing the right and because while the american people not always expect to win, they do expect us to fight. they expect us to stand up for what we believed to be the best interest of our country, and we did this. in standing up, coming to the demonstrated to the getican people why we can't votes on common sense safety measures. the american people understand that we are not the problem.

often they put us into the same boat, through the same lens. morning, they came to realize that we are not the problem. that in january of next year -- [applause] >> i want to thank like colleagues for doing this. this is a very important moment in the life of this congress. i want to thank everybody who has worked out as moment. in life, there comes certain filled where -- that are

with the potential of changing history.ctory of we are in such a moment. and so often like this moment, they come out of pain. turned into passion for a purpose. when i think about all the people who have perished because es wen violence, on started their day thinking it just end up in joy or coming home and going to bed and they never make it home. here thishat stand

6:10, never get to see the sunrise. .eople in orlando many of them probably getting ready to go home, never got there. colleaguesremind my of three things. ie american people lead us -- wasnt the american people to understand we feel the pain. we are not satisfied to have a moment -- ist you are asking us to do stop the violence, to do

something about the gun violence. we are dedicated to doing that and we will do that. i want to encourage my colleagues to not give up. maxine waters said, let's stay here until hell freezes over. what she was saying is what we have to do is make sure that we do not give up and that we create -- the american people are so frustrated because they feel we cannot get things done. i am convinced that by doing the things we have done over this ast 17, 18 hours, it sends message to the public and the

message to our republican colleagues. we have a duty to make a difference and to bring reasonable legislation to the floor and to vote for it. i would love for them to do it. to exercise whatnt we have sworn to do, and that is to protect our constituents and the people of the united states of america. that is what this is all about. if they do not want to go with havet least allow us to the opportunity to do our job. i am convinced that when we are operating on the side of what is right, and this is right, family will prevail. then my last point.

sometimes it gets frustrating, madame leader. i've been in politics for 35 years and i've seen it over again. an idea that comes forth. not going tosts happen. we push and we push and we push. there comes a moment when the door opens. some who may have thought about it may not be there to see the battle through. one thing we do know is that if we do nothing, things will continue the way they are and even worse, they will get worse.

so what we are about the business of doing is creating a new sense of normalcy. we cannot accept this. children beingt slaughtered. in my cityccept 300 every year gunned down. cannot accept it. cannot accept folks in orlando and columbine and i can go on and on and on. we will not have that. i want to say my colleagues for what you have done. we send a powerful message. but, but, but we cannot endhere. we simply cannot end here. there are those who are calling

it some kind of gimmich. it is not a gimmick for any of us. thank you. >> thank you. [applause] democrats, my are at 6:15here we are still here. we are still on the floor. forl stating the case common sense gun legislation. making the case for no-fly, no -buy. as i have listened over the hours,of the past 17

many of myo suchagues have made important statements on this floor. but i think about my district in peoplesey, where young dress that about the they are wearing with her high school graduation, as i was fortunate to have my triplets graduate high school a week ago. district, whenmy out pictures cut

of pretty dresses, i've heard young as 11as years old say this is the dress i want to be buried in. that is what they know, because of the senseless gun violence that has perpetrated across this nation every single day. if they are so worried on the about side of the aisle terrorists, we watch them as what unfolded in orlando and learning about the terrible person that perpetrated this massacre. criticized.

you were looking at him. why these you let ihim go? you checked on him twice. why did you let him go? buy iss what no-fly, no- all about. how on one side you can criticize the fbi for doing exactly what you want them to do. that is what no-fly, no-buy is about. tiesy single day communit across this nation live with the senseless gun violence. the journey has some of the most stringent -- virginia has some of the most stringent gun laws

in the country. route 95 north and find a way into new jersey. east and find their way into new jersey. they are sold by criminals at a high profit. these gun show loophole allow criminals to go to other states to buy these weapons return back to my home state. it has to stop. we have to close the loophole s. there should be background checks gun shows, or else this carnage will continue. criminals are always going to find a way to make a profit. if you can buy a gun in another

state and bring to where there are no guns allowed the sold, you can -- the cost of a gun. fly wouldn't a -- why wouldn't a criminal do that? nra, the lobbyist of profiteers, of the gunmakers, the nra, i feel sorry for some of my colleagues. they are slaves to the nra. people agree with the your only-- we are not majority of the congress. there were many more people that people on thed by other side of the aisle that feel the same way.

it is time for them to do something about it. his time for them to have representation that represents the way they feel. the nra stands for no republican action. and i yield back. [applause] >> yeah. very morning. >> good morning. be here.cky i feel to half awake, though, i may be. to be here with some courageous colleagues. stories'll be telling

many years from now, people like nancy pelosi, john lewis, the people who organize what we had night, thisay, last morning, and going forward. losithing leader pe reminds us is a quote from abraham lincoln that public sentiment is everything. with privileged along scott peters and others to record and stream some of what we're doing here. we have seen the comments of people we represent, one-hour period last night there were about 10,000 comments that came in. everybody is ready to discuss

this and to move forward. i cannot tell you how many people encouraged us. we're excited we are taking this issue on. offered to call pizza delivery for us. charge our battery packs. that on a day when so many of my colleagues or more senior in service have called one of the most amazing days in their careers, that that owed to theirts leadership and a response to the american public. what you feel and what you demand guides us. in this case it has guided us to this moment. wordf fortake their

it that this is different. the frustrations, the inability to get some kind of sensible gun legislation. we're talking about things like closing all loopholes so that everyone who buys guns goes through a background check. not allowing those who are precluded from flying on an airplane because they pose a terror threat, precluded them from also buying a guy. gunwing the cdc to study violence. republicans and democrats will receive the same information and then me an informed decision.

something better will come out of that then what we've seen in the past for the american people . i want to thank all those who brought us together. american thank the public for demanding that we take this action and for sustaining us while we are here and being with us going forward. with that i yield back. [applause] >> good morning to my colleagues. good morning! >> what an honorable group. >> wide-awake and ready to go. seriousness, the last several hours beginning yesterday morning and through

yesterday, through the night, and now into the early morning hours of this given day. a moment we have made of history. an historic situation conducted by the democrats of the house two f gathered on the house steps with leader pelosi, with our colleagues who join with our voices to encourage if not to plead for progress, to respond with common sense, good to be to items that need address, that address the public safety within our neighborhoods do here onthat we

the house floor. an iconoin the forces, in the name of john lewis. brother john lewis. congressman john lewis. notorious for standing for human and civil rights. having set a tone for this nation for decades, enabling this country to grow. grow in terms of recognition, of being that more perfect union, providing rights for those who were denied rights. making a difference in the quality of life of the people of this great nation. and to have had the efforts put forth by represented katherine clark, whom i am looking at his moment.

thank you, catherine. [applause] and by david of rhode island. thank you, and as we gather here, testimony upon testimony upon testimony, we heard of the need in our given community. the loss of life, the that willn of dreams never be captured because of life caption -- cut short. i have talked to a number of stations in my district early this morning. and the response from the republican majority has been, this is a political stunt. what is a political stunt?

banging the gavel two days early, closing session, adjourning in the heat of a sit .n in the darkness of night fleeing washington. that is a political stunt. so i say to the republicans in washington, and i make that distinction because in my district, republicans along with democrats along with independents and nonaffiliated voters in the general public at large, gun owners and non-gun owners have said, common sense is where we need to be. that needs to be the road that we follow. making certain that if you are deemed dangerous and should not fly on an airline -- airplane, you should not be able to purchase a gun. common sense.

if the loopholes that allow you to purchase a gun online or at gun shows, not having a background check, common sense. close that loophole. that is where people are. but in washington, republicans, our colleagues in republican ranks, want to call this a political stunt. i am floor those colleagues, the republican colleagues, to see this for what it is. to the republican majority in the house of representatives, it is not a political stunt will see it for what it is. is an impassioned plea on behalf of those who have lost loved ones to gun violence. , tofor the leadership

speaker paul ryan and other leaders in the house from the republican ranks, see it for what it is. it is not a political stunt. it is rightful indignation! america has had enough. they have lost their loved ones. they grieve. listened to the stories people will talk about with each and every passing bit of carnage, and people will talk about visiting the family members and loved ones of the arms -- victims. we hear about them looking into their tear filled eyes. we hear about them empathizing because of their broken hearts. but then we get here and business is denied. progress is denied.

it is so disrespectful. ours so insensitive for response -- their response, the majority's response, when they lend a blind eye to the tear filled eye. when they address with hardened hearts the broken hearts, the heavy hearts. that is the injustice that is driven by their recalcitrance. by the determination not to let a bill to the floor for a vote. my colleagues, i am so proud of the efforts we have made today. individual voices, collective voices saying, we can do better than this. there are solutions that are common sense solutions.

let us go forward. no-fly, no-buy. close the loophole. make sure background checks cover each and every purchase. that is a start. that is a respectful response to those who have forever lost loved ones, children, parents, siblings, grandparents, neighbors, and friends. i am honored to stand on this floor with colleagues who are champions for reform. let's go forward. with that, i yield back. [applause] good morning, colleagues. i have to apologize for my voice , but it is well worth it. this has been just an extraordinary night. what a day. and to be here with our leader, our friends, our mother.

[laughter] we're all here as mothers and fathers. you know, i can't tell you how proud i am as my good friend katherine clark. our permite left yesterday morning, she had her suit days. i said, where you going with your suitcase? bringing my, i am toothbrush. i think we're going to spend the night. and i did not realize that she meant right here on the floor of the united states house of representatives, but i could not be more proud because katherine maxinebie and nancy and -- all of the extraordinary mothers, and the fathers, the stories we heard about children and derek. when you fly here and leave them

behind, makes mail must tearful. but nothing, nothing compares to the mothers of these beautiful children. children, young people struck down in their prime. think of the future. think of our future. think of our collective future and the mothers and fathers that got those tech -- texts. text messages remind me of 9/11. do you remember those messages from the plane and the phone messages? dealer member that? "we are going down." i always thought, the families were left behind with that. what about the mother and those messages, "he is coming. he's in the bathroom. i'm going to die"? this is who we are here for. the mothers, the fathers from the sisters, the brothers.

and our own children. elizabeth read a beautiful text to me from her children saying, -- i am not sure i can repeat the word on the floor, but it is the most remarkable. as a mother, when we were at our 2012, we our class of had all just been elected to -- we wered it was in cambridge. we were learning about democracy and the united states house of representatives in this extraordinary experience we were going to have. suddenly, elizabeth's phone is going well. we are looking at her going, why should looking at her phone? this is an incredible experience, we have to pay attention. all of these things, we have to learn them.

elizabeth looked up and she said, i have to leave. i have to leave. it was the first time any of us had to go to our constituents because you are the representative. not even sworn in, and she went to newtown. she went to the police station. she held those mothers and fathers in her arms. i can't even begin to describe it. i can't even begin to imagine it. what do you say to the mother of a six-year-old that has been done down --gunned down? this is america. what can you say? yet you stuck with it. every american needs to know you stuck with it. ever since, you remind us every , we have to address this issue. and every time we have to think

about the children. and we have to think about the future -- america's future is right here. it was in that classroom. movies. going to the come on, there is no more innocent place. i think of all of our colleagues and you can now just go across the country district after district. congressew member of gets a phone call, it has blown up in your district. the only reason i have not gotten that phone call, i just state and not too many people. i have a state where people really believe in this gun ownership. they get their food that way.

mike thompson said that yesterday or one of our how that isaying what they ate for food growing up. you know, i have to respect that. and i do. and i've had conversations with women, single women, who don't feel safe in their homes and they said to be coming "you know what? i have a stalker and i had to go use -- learn how to use a gun." the chief of police in this small town where this woman was being harassed, she learned to use the gun. she would to target practice. and the chief of police went to the stocker and said, you know, she is a really good shot. that is what it has come to, right? in some cases. we want to take the -- we don't want to take the guns away, but what we're talking about is so common sense. it is so simple. we fly on airplanes back and forth every week and we go through this same tsa.

we go through the checking. are we safe to get on this airplane? is, if youuestion have evil intent on your heart and we have determined you are not safe to travel because families will be traveling on that airplane, then i got to tell you, you are not safe to go out into our community to a church or a nightclub or theater or in elementary school with evil intent and a weapons of mass destruction. so that is how simple it is. i think the american people know . i think they're going to wake up this morning and say, wow, that is courage in washington, d.c. that is what this election season is all about. we have the first primary in the nation. sanders, youe

know, the candidates on the other side, we had a dozen of them, and what the american people were looking for is some kurds down here. -- courage down here. speaker paul ryan, the empty chair right behind us, these folks left in the middle of the night. you have to understand what that means. they booked it. they blocked it. they used a procedure we cannot even hardly tell what was going on. the procedure that they used. to say, they got to go home for the holidays. they got to go home. they got places to be. probably caught flights in the middle of the night because they did not have the courage for this conversation that we are all losing our voices over. but guess what? it is too important. this conversation is too important. it is a national conversation. and you are a part of it. thank you, scott, eric.

you are a part of it. america -- the world is part of this conversation. thank you for that. so i'm going to rest because i have to rest my voice. we have to keep going. but thank you to everybody, to your leadership. thank you for your friendship and your kindness. and i'm nevers going to sleep until we get this. thank you. [applause] good morning. i wish i were as smart as katherine clark and had a toothbrush. smart people who are wearing their blankets. we just made a comment, maybe they are trying to freeze us out of here. i don't know. you know, i think we all come here from unique perspectives. we heard story after story from

our moms who serve here, our dad, grandma's and grandpa's. what i would like to talk a little bit about is my own family history with guns. the kind of district that i represent and what this means to me and how i have come to this point where i am here at 6:45 a.m. going into full day two of this discussion on guns. by grandmother was a nurse. she was a nurse at a gun company in upstate new york. my first interaction with guns would have been a .22 that my grandmother for this gun company gave it to my father. we always kept it in our basement will stop did not know that much about it. my dad would go hunting. that was about the extent of it

growing up. my brother was a baseball player and ended up being a baseball coach and all of that, so he wasn't so much into that. , grewn i would get older up in sprinkles, illinois, moved to moline, illinois, and that my husband when i was a rookie newspaper reporter and he was a rookie cop. i cover the cop beat and we actually met at a third shift party, which means the police officers would get off at 8:00 in the morning. i showed up at 10:00. you can kind of imagine that setting. anyway, we would end up getting married. we have been married now for 30 years. and for all of those 30 years, my husband has carried a gun with on-duty and off-duty. we are the parents of three sons. -- all three of

our boys are avid outdoorsman. but our oldest son finished second in the nation in trap shooting. it gives you an idea about how good he is with knowing how to shoot guns. boys are of my hunters. they all three own guns. my husband owns a gun. i own a gun. and that is kind of a little bit of a snapshot of the 17th district of illinois, which is the northwestern region of illinois. when i tell people i'm from illinois, they make this assumption i'm from chicago. i am not. i am what is called a downstate are -- downstater. this is the district where people like their guns. and they find in our outdoorsman and outdoors women.

it is a very tough issue in a congressional district like mine. how i have gotten to this point where i have chosen to be here with my colleagues over the last because i hours, is also know that people i represent in the 17th district of illinois are very reasonable, smart people when it comes to public policy. we haveow the two bills been talking about upon hours upon hours upon hours that the leadership -- republican leadership of this house would not let us debate, i know those bills are reasonable. i also know the people of my congressional district understand that to make sure that people are on the terrorist no-fly list should not have guns . that does not go over anybody's head in my congressional district. they understand that.

they understand that would you wrong to have anybody who was on that list to be able to have a gun. they also know reasonable background checks is nothing too much to ask, either. so i am very proud, just like some of you other members who have come up here from the start of all of this. i'm very proud to be a democrat. i am very proud to have the colleagues that serve all 188 democrats in the u.s. house of representatives. to hear people stories over these last many hours who have been moving, it has been touching will stop i mentioned earlier i was a reporter. i was a newspaper reporter. i have a snapchat account now. i am probably a little old to be doing a snapchat account, but what i get to do with that, it allows me to be kind of a reporter again.

, ise little 10 second videos have interviewed more than 50 of my colleagues since this started. i was not overtly disobeying the -- upset with so many of us. i interviewed our colleagues. my question to them off-camera, because i only had 10 seconds to allow them to speak, was, tell me what you are feeling. what are your emotions? it or that or, what you hope to accomplish with this? colleague after colleague after colleague just open up their hearts for all 10 of those seconds they could share on snapchat. i agree with leader pelosi that she said, thank goodness for the fact that we have social media because our voices -- the was an

attempt to shut us down by turning off these microphones. i also want to say thanks to the people, when we walked outside justhat crowd -- at first, a few people, then it was like it -- tripled and quadrupled. before long, the remit, many people showing their support. i've got some unbelievable text and phone calls like all of us 24-is hourse last from supporters. i will tell you about two that are very meaningful to me. woman -- i will use her name because i don't think she would mind at all am a name is dora larson. she is the most amazing woman. i've known her for many years. i met her when i was a newspaper reporter because her 10-year-old daughter was sexually assaulted

and murdered by a kid who was visiting our community many, many years ago now. so i have become friends with dora as a result of knowing her story back from my reporting days. she sent me a picture early this morning and sent me a text, and it showed her sleeping on the holly,ith her little dog saying she is doing this and us whoity with those of have endured -- have been here throughout the night. and she said she is just so moved by the fact that so many of our colleagues have taken part in this. i wanted to share that story because she has been through this unbelievable heartache, yet

she knows how important something like this is. second note i want to mention to named jihana woman gordon booth, a state legislator at up your he. she sent me a text in all caps because she and her husband have the most adorable daughter in the world and they had a son who was murdered. someoneurdered because shot him and killed him. her note to me was to stay strong and how proud of all of us that she is. message to the people i am fortunate enough to represent, thank you for your well wishes, your encouragement, and all of the people outside and to john

lewis, david cicilline, katherine clark -- one of my dearest friends here in congress. the fact that you put this all , thank you for coordinating all of this this morning and thank you to all of my colleagues who are here and i've been here throughout the night. i really hope when the bottom of my heart that this will do some good and we will be able to make some things happen. thank you very much. [applause] >> every morning we do a series -- it is about to take place here in a few minutes.

[indiscernible] >> we can just take a break. >> the democrats on the house floor continuing their sit-in after house republicans have adjourned until july 5. you may have heard some democrats saying, we can take a break. not sure what is going to happen next. they have continued with their

sit-in, protesting -- not getting a vote on gun control legislation. a.m.started this at 11:25 yesterday, about 170 democrats have been participating. protesters that it outside the capital. memories of congress went out to talk to them throughout the night. they sat in the chamber, many of them, taking turns talking. we have in following them on social media. as you have seen, bringing you their social media feed, periscope, facebook live, as they have continued this over 19 plus hours approaching 20 hours whichdemanding a vote they are not going to get. republicans, the house speaker calling this a publicity stunt saying the measures they have called for failed in the senate, that they're breaking the rules as well by having cameras in bringing video to the house

floor. as we can see, this is back up. we can go back there live as we continue to watch here is democrats continue with their protest. nightclub that occurred over the weekend, brought about series that reconnected me, literally, the mayans, one ofe the people who was shot -- the surviving spouse and two spouse andnd his daughters paid a visit to washington. all three women have become quite eloquent, although, i

would not say the word is reluctant, but they would rather not be doing the work they're doing. they would rather have their and husband still alive. ,amien was a very generous gifted person. he was in social services work. -- my thoughts are completely with their family. trenna expressed to me how angry she was at our government. at our government's inability to do anything about gun violence.

surface thehe trauma that she felt just a few months ago when her husband was so violently taken from her. my own experience over the weekend, over the last weekend, was i was marching in the washington, d.c., lgbt pride parade. prior to that, i had been in the white house with president obama. where president obama was ticking off all of the major confidence for lgbt equality that have occurred during his the administration. equalityt was marriage , executive order to protect lgbt workers from discrimination. it was a great celebratory mood. none of us -- all of us felt there was tremendous -- tremendous progress that had been made.

and marching in the pride parade was also a celebratory experience. and then to wake up sunday morning to initial news reports of 20 people being shot dead, and then as the morning wore on, the death toll and it became more apparent to me that this was an attack on may -- made me even more concerned that as it events unfolded and became clear who committed this crime was a , whodisturbed individual got connection to an assault -styled weapon. maybe even more