The fight over gun control legislation is consuming Congress, and making it impossible for lawmakers to focus on anything else.
As lawmakers in the Senate struggled to come up with a bipartisan measure to block terror suspects from purchasing firearms, House Democrats seized their own chamber, shutting down legislative business with a “sit-in” they pledged would go on until Republican leaders allow votes on two gun control measures.
The debate over gun legislation has taken over Capitol Hill in the wake of the most recent mass shooting, which left 50 dead, including the shooter, and 53 wounded in an Orlando nightclub.
The Orlando shooter, Omar Mateen, pledged allegiance to the Islamic State while he shot clubgoers with an assault-style weapon.
In the Senate, Republicans and Democrats are attempting to write a bipartisan measure that would prevent terror suspects from purchasing firearms and explosives, but there is no deal yet.
“It’s still a work in progress,” Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, said as he left a GOP meeting where the legislation was discussed.
Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn, R-Texas, told the Washington Examiner the measure could be ready for a vote within days, but the chief sponsor, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, sounded less optimistic about taking up legislation this week.
“It’s still possible,” Collins said. “We are doing some refinements reflecting some suggestions that we’ve had from both sides of the aisle.”
Across the Capitol, dozens of Democratic lawmakers shouted “No bill, no break,” from the well of the House, where they stood and sat on the floor, listening to other Democrats give speeches about the need for gun control legislation.
Senate Democrats crossed the Capitol to join the floor takeover, which mirrored a 15-hour Senate floor Democratic filibuster last week that resulted in Republican leaders agreeing to hold votes on gun control measures that ultimately failed to pass.
House Democrats began their sit-in while the House was out of session Wednesday morning.
When the GOP attempted to gavel in at noon, Democrats refused to leave the well. Republicans quickly gave up and declared a recess, turning off the microphones and camera feed.
House Democrats are demanding a vote on a measure that would prevent those on the federal terror watch list from buying firearms. They also want a vote on legislation that would expand background checks for gun purchases.
“We are asking that they bring up two bills that have overwhelming support on both sides of the aisle,” said Rep. Mike Thompson, D-Calif., who chairs a Democratic gun violence prevention task force.
While some Republicans may back the two bills, most do not and they are eager to avoid being forced to vote on the legislation in an election year.
Republicans oppose the terror watch list legislation because they believe it denies due process to those on the list, which is error-prone and often includes innocent people.
Democrats in the Senate defeated a Republican alternative this week that would have first required the government to show probable cause in a court that a person should not be allowed to purchase a weapon.
Republicans are working with Collins to make changes to her bill in order to ensure due process is provided more fully for those on the federal terror watch list. The compromise could be attached to a fiscal 2017 spending bill now on the floor.
“That is one of the issues we are looking at,” Collins said.
With the gun debate consuming the news, less attention has been directed to the House GOP’s much-anticipated agenda rollout, which House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., hopes will lure voters in November. Republicans unveiled their healthcare agenda this week and plan to make public their plan to reform the tax code on Friday.
