on msnbc. >> rise up democrats. rise up americans. this cannot stand! >> i'm craig melvin right now here at msnbc live. the raging debate over gun control has come to a head on the house floor. it happened just moments ago. house democrats sitting down on the job led by john lewis of georgia, congressman lewis of georgia, no strange tore sit-ins, of course, demanding that house republicans not recess until they allow a vote on common sense gun reform. their rallying cry "no bill, no break." >> i wondered what would bring this body to take action, what would finally make congress do what is right, what is just, what the people of this country have been demanding and what is long overdue. we have lost hundreds and

thousands of innocent people to gun violence. >> i just got off the phone with representatives from congressman lewis' office. they tell me the congressman plans to continue with the foreseeable future, their words, not mine. right now roughly 40 house democrats, among them chris murphy who led the 15-hour filibuster last week. congresswoman bass talked to andrea a few minutes ago saying extreme measures are need. >> it's a shame. we know what all the polling says. there's absolutely no reason for this. i think we will be here until they decide to take up the vote. it's a shame that you need to go to extraordinary measures like this. but you might have known, we spent several days attempting to bring this up, and they would not even allow our assistant leader, representative cliburn

to speak. >> also happening right now, we're waiting for house minority leader nancy pelosi to talk about no bill, no break. right now we'll get back to luke russert on capitol hill. john lewis says it's time to make a little noise to force action. you've covered the house for some time. let's start with how unprecedented this is. >> this is wild, craig. i've been here for seven years and have been speaking to senior colleague ofs mine in the press corps. they have never seen anything like this. the way the house operates, the rules are really under control of the governing party, in this case the republicans. for the minority party to get their voice heard, it usually has to be done via an agreement with the majority. in this case democrats fed up they have not been able to get a gun control bill even up for a vote on the house floor, decided to stage a sit-in, led by civil rights icon john lewis.

it's also unique, craig, because the cameras are not on because they serve at the will of the speaker. there's customary agreement that they're only on when there's official business of the house. since this is not sanctioned and not official business, there are no cameras, no microphones. the only way any reporting comes out of the chamber is because reporters like me will sit in the chamber, scribble it down, write it on twitter, that's the only way it gets out which is pretty extraordinary considering we're in 2016. that's what the situation is. the words from the chamber are extraordinary, cedric richmond from new orleans, who elected the nra to run this country? right afterward sheila jackson said break the shackles. maxine waters from california screamed out, i'm prepared to stay here until hell freezes over. tammy duckworth said why are these assault rifles on the street? these were things too powerful in some military quarters.

the house democrats are getting helping. dick durbin came over. listen to what he had to say about the importance of the sit-in. >> do you feel they will be able to get a vote, you guys in the senate will get a vote on the no-fly, no-buy, enhanced background checks? do you feel this will prove successful? >> we didn't know whether we started the filibuster, chris murphy of connecticut, cory booker, dick blumenthal. we didn't know whether mitch mcconnell would give us a vote. we got a vote. it du didn't come through, but it triggered the next step, susan collins with something that moves us forward. it started with members saying enough is enough. >> craig, the question is what is the next step? what will get house democrats to

leave the floor? will they be able to get a house on gun control legislation. i'm told house minority leader nancy pelosi is now on the floor taking part in the protest. we'll report on what she says when we have the opportunity. >> you just referenced it being 2016 and us not having access to live pictures. pleased to report we do have access, this is via periscope -- it just froze for us. we'll get back to it. what are house republicans, what's the leadership saying about all of this? >> they were completely caught off guard. that's because this is such a unique situation. ryan spoke today about that bipartisan compromise that was coming forward in the senate regarding no-fly no-buy saying they would have to see what came out of the senate before they made a decision on movement. the house democrats have asked for votes over the last two weeks on different types of gun

control legislation and have been given nothing. that's why they're doing this. i do think it's an important thing to bring up, the business of the house has officially stopped. they're supposed to have votes around 3:30 today. unclear whether that will go forward. they were supposed to reopen at noon for various speeches. that has been stopped due to the pro tess. the only person who can end this is ryan, he can do that with the sergeant in arms. that sets up a pr fiasco if you have members of congress being forcibly removed from the floor. i don't foresee them doing that in any capacity. it's going to be a fascinating thing to see. >> before the end game, while we're having this conversation, here is a live picture of the setup for a news conference. they wasted no time getting that rallying cry on a billboard there, no bill, no break. we're told that's where democratic leader nancy pelosi is going to head. if the members leave the floor

and go to the news conference, what happens to the sit-in? >> well, there are over 60 members on the floor. i presume some can go on the press conference and others stay and go back and forth. there are enough there that can hold it down for as long as need be, craig. >> in terms of this break that's supposed to happen, for folks who don't follow the congressional calendar as closely as you, when is that break supposed to happen? historically do they delay these things? is this something that could potentially be delayed if the no guns, no vote thing continues. >> when they're in an election year, it's customary that they take all of august off and most of july. they go home to their districts and they campaign. this congress, actually, is one of the shortest congresses in recent modern history, one of the reasons they're so unpopular, the perception of the public is they don't work all the time. the facts back that up in terms of the schedule themselves.

that's greatly reduced, partly because it's the last year of administration and parties are out working on getting re-elected. they were supposed to be back the first two weeks of july with july 15 being the end day all the way until early to mid september. so with the house democrats, they'd like to see a vote on gun control legislation ahead of the break coming up this friday that would then go for the week. unclear if they will do that. not a lot of precedent for canceling these types of congressional breaks. i remember a few years ago pelosi stopped one in the middle and she was speaker. so the republicans control the floor and i don't see them doing that. >> luke russert, stick around if you can. we are awaiting nancy pelosi's news conference on capitol hill, no bill, no break being the rallying cry. let's bring in chief legal correspondent ari melber.

i know you've been going through the rules of the house, sir. what can you tell us about the rules that dictate and the rules that govern this kind of display here on the floor? >> the rules give the speaker a lot of power. i worked as a congressional staffer over a decade ago. i've never seen anything like this. this is fairly unprecedented in the modern era. it is a huge political policy statement here from the folks doing sit-in. the flip side, of course, is the speaker has to maintain order. he doesn't want to set a precedent here in this standoff where anyone who gets upset and wants to create a sit-in or a made-up filibuster, the house doesn't legally have filibusters, can hijack and take over the agenda. rule one gives the speaker the power basically to preserve order and decorum. that is the bottom line. there's the reason why it's the first rule. the house is much more

unitariry, driven by the speaker alone than the senate where you have minority rules. number two, how would that work? sergeant at arms, may not allow a person to enter and sees that the floor is cleared of all except those privileged to remain. that typically includes all members of the house. this stand-off here that according to john lewis, they don't want it to end, they're going to stay up here and have that press conference they're waiting on, but keep people on the floor. if this has no end, sooner or later you have a question of whether the speaker wants to involve the sergeant at arms. i can tell you this brand new to our newsroom, we learned the sergeant at arms is already involved, not on removing people, but on trying to prevent video recordings. there you see it from congressman yarmuth, a sergeant of arms asking us to stop taking photos and videos from house floor. republicans should turn the cameras back on.

#nobillnobreak. that's different because we are in a different world if members cannot only shut down the house with what they call direct action or protest, but also video it, live stream it and try to make this a large national event. you have the sergeant at arms there, the police of the josing don't do that. >> i want to make sure we can bring luke back into the conversation in a moment. in terms of direct action protest, it's very interesting you would use that language. congressman john lewis of georgia, one of the folks running this sit-in here. he's got a lot of experience with sit-ins. we know that. it was very interesting to hear from the senator last hour who talked about the purpose behind this. we know republicans control the lower chamber. democrats don't really have the votes to do anything substantive, for lack of a better word, with regards to changing gun laws in this

country. is this designed to get folks tweeting and talking and posting and calling their congressmen and senators. is that what we're seeing? is that the goal. >> i think that's exactly right. the analysis is not just how do you get a vote today, the winning vote, but the numbers are there. we are in an election season although democrats would contend they've been pushing these for a while and the politics aren't just simply about 2016. they are trying to create something larger. you notice john lewis, as everyone knows who follows politics, is from the civil rights movement, almost lost his life fighting for that movement, brings a certain moral authority that not the average politician does. he said we are going to, quote, occupy the house floor. that's a reference to the occupy movement, a much more modern -- not civil rights in the '60s, but the occupy movement that took over sioux katty park as a message to wall street and

didn't leave it for days on end. the notion above and beyond a vote or amendment or a lot of the stuff that makes the house or politics boring to cover, put that aside and saying we're not leaving until we at least get something. as for the videos, we'll see what the sergeant in arms does. >> we have congressman chris van holland standing by for us from maryland. we should note speaker pelosi, democratic minority leader pelosi is heading to the podium. when she starts, i may have to cut you off. quickly, sir, what's the goal, what's the end game on the house floor right now? >> the goal is very simple. it's to get a vote on some of the common sense gun safety measures so we can save lives in united states of america. we're asking for a vote on a simple bill, no fly, no buy. if you're on the no-fly list, you shouldn't be able to walk

down the street and buy a semi-automatic assault weapon. we've said until we get that vote, we're not leaving. so no bill, no break. the congress is currently scheduled to go out on a recess starting tomorrow, starting on friday. we're going to stay here until we get that very simple vote. the american people deserve it. they call this the people's house. for goodness sakes we should at least have a vote. >> congressman, stand by if you can. i want to listen in a bit to nancy pelosi. >> good afternoon, everyone. as we gather once again to speak out in honoring our responsibility to protect and defend the american people, once again we're fighting an uphill fight to have legislation brought to the floor that would do just that. right now as we gather on the steps of the capitol, there are many on the floor from the house and senate, sadly to say, just

on the democratic side, although i know our support for this legislation is bipartisan, legislation to no-fly, no-buy. if you're on the terrorist list, you can't buy a gun, and forcepsable background checks. that's a dual agenda that we have. that was the agenda that was spoke tone by senator chris murphy and other senators on the floor of the senate earlier this week. our members are gathered on the floor of the house in protest that we cannot even have a vote because we truly believe if there were a vote, that we would win the vote because 85 to 90% of the american people depending on the bill support responsible background checks, legislation which is bipartisan and the no-fly, no-buy legislation which is bipartisan. i'm honored to be with jim

clyburn, congressman bobby rush, congressman mike thompson, the chair of our task force on gun violence prevention, elizabeth esty from connecticut and newtown and congressman robin kelly who will talk about the gun violence that happens every day in our country. since orlando, a couple hundred people -- over 150 people have died from gun violence in the streets of our country. we want to address that issue as well as to deeply pray for those who lost their lives and their family members in orlando and all of the mass shootings before that, but also remembering those who lose their lives to gun violence every single day. with that, i'm pleased to yield to extinguished assistant to the leader mr. jim clyburn of south carolina. >> thank you, thank you very much, madam leader.

last friday all of us paused around the country to commemorate the first anniversary of the death of nine of my constituents. three people survived that night, two by playing dead and one because the killer walked up to her and said i'm going to spare you because i want you to carry the message. that young man made it very clear that he was not about any foreign issue or any kind of international terrorism. he said that he was doing what he was doing in order to start a race war. now, the interesting thing about this is that young man was not eligible to own a gun. in fashlgt, the background check

had been undertaken. as the leader said, we want reasonable, effective background checks. we have a big loophole in this law, that because of this incident is now called the charleston loophole, and that loophole is simply this, if within the three-day period the background check is not completed, the gun sale can be consummated. well, because wrong information was keyed in, either purposefully or by mistake, the fact of the matter is that the expiration of the three days, the background check had not been completed and it was some two days after that. >> assistant democratic leader jim clyburn of south carolina there. before that democratic minority leader nancy pelosi on the steps of the capitol talking about this sit-in that has started on

the house floor. congressman chris van hollen has been so kind as to stick around. for folks that have not been following this as closely as we all had, the bill you're talking about specifically, the bill that you want to come up for a vote on the house before recess, that bill would do what precisely? >> well, it would say if you're on the no-fly list. if you've been determined to be a terrorist risk and determined it's unsafe for the country for you to get on an airplane, you can't then go by a gun. it's a pretty simple idea. over 90% of the american public supports that. we call ourselves the people's house. it's time to do the people's business. as you listen to lieder pelosi and others on the steps of the capitol, we continue to have people sitting on the floor of the josing that we're going to sit there until we get a vote.

for goodness sakes, our republican colleagues and everybody should at least have a vote of this fundamental issue of public safety. it's important to the american people. we shouldn't be packing our bags for vacation until we take that common sense step. >> congressman chris van hollen there for us inside. meanwhile, on the steps, a live look at democratic leadership as we talk about the sit-in on going in united states house of representatives. we'll keep an eye on that. we have to take a quick break. when we come back, we'll talk about the speech that was, roughly an hour and a half ago, donald trump tearing into hillary clinton. this is msnbc. real is touching a ray. amazing is moving like one. real is making new friends. amazing is getting this close.

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trump unloaded on hillary clinton, bringing up past controversies, also questioning her character. >> she's a world class liar. just look at her pathetic e-mail server statements. hillary clinton has perfected the politics of personal profit and even theft. she ran the statement like her own personal hedge fund. hillary clinton gave china millions of jobs, our best jobs and effectively let china completely rebuild itself. in return, hillary clinton got rich. hillary clinton may be the most corrupt person ever to seek the presidency of the united states. >> hillary clinton meanwhile on capitol hill meeting with democratic leaders prescribing to the sit-in. we'll hear clinton's first response when she talks to supporters in raleigh, north carolina.

some analysis on how both presidential campaigns have ratcheted up their al attacks. nbc's katy tur has been covering the trump campaign since the very beginning. this was an all-out assault on hillary clinton. did it land, katy? >> it was supposed to be a full frontal assault. for those who wanted to hear it, it certainly did land. there are a number of independents and soft democrats, vulnerable democrats who do not like hillary clinton. the campaign hopes they'll be able to convince them to come to donald trump's side with a speech like this, painting him as more about the people than the politician, saying hillary clinton is out for herself, out for washington, while donald trump is out for the voters. but a bit of a fact check here. there were a number of inaccuracies during his speech. when he reached out to muslims, peaceful muslims saying isis threatens them. that's a departure from the rhett wick we had been hearing on the campaign trail. as recently as a couple days ago

donald trump saying that muslims should be surveilled in the country, they are people that could be doubted. they could be held to prevent terrorism situations but they're not doing it. also that clinton campaign is corrupt, tra. a bit of a context here, donald trump and ivanka have both given money to the clinton foundation, trump between $100 and $200,000. donald trump has called it blood money that he didn't necessarily know where that cash was going tochlt he talked about bill clinton being responsible for losing jobs when he signed nafta