Beatty, Democrats stage sit-in on House floor to protest gun violence

WASHINGTON -- Dozens of House Democrats staged a sit-in on the floor of the House today to protest House Republican leadership for not allowing a vote on gun control legislation.

Chanting, “no bill, no break,” Democrat after Democrat -- including Rep. Joyce Beatty of Jefferson Township -- read off the names of those who lost their lives to gun violence.

With House Republicans going into recess and the C-Span cameras turned off, Beatty read off the names of 41 people who have died of gun violence in Franklin County so far this year. They included 15-year-old Aboubakary Diawara, Eddie Lovely, Kaleb White, who was also 15, Mohammed Barry and Deontae Fisher, who was 7.

The group was led by longtime civil rights leader John Lewis, a Democratic congressman from Georgia. Democrats sat on the carpet or in seats, cheering rowdily and speaking only to those in the galleries, including a group of journalists that grew as news of the sit-in spread.

“Mr. Speaker, where is the heart of this body? Where is our soul? Where is our moral leadership? Where is our courage?” Lewis asked.

“How many more mothers, how many more fathers need to shed tears before we do something?” he asked. “We were elected to lead, Mr. Speaker. We must be headlights and not tail lights.”

The Senate earlier this week failed to pass four proposals -- two Democrat and two Republican -- that would have adjusted the federal background check system and seeking to limit or ban those suspected of terrorism from buying weapons.

This article first appeared on the Columbus Dispatch's website on June 22, 2016.