The House GOP will not give in to Democrats who are demanding a vote on two gun-control measures in exchange for stopping planned floor disruptions, the House majority leader said Tuesday.
“I don’t think that type of behavior should be rewarded in any manor,” Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., told reporters on Tuesday, adding that the GOP-led House Rules panel will be voting on which amendments to allow.
On June 22, Democrats began a 25-hour sit-in along the well of the House floor, demanding the Republican majority allow votes on legislation to expand background checks for gun purchases as well as another bill to block those on a terror watch list from buying firearms and explosives.
Democrats are threatening further demonstrations this week if Republicans refuse to allow votes on the two measures.
But McCarthy said the House GOP won’t be giving in.
House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., has called for votes this week on an anti-terrorism package that includes a GOP and NRA-endorsed measure that would require a three-day waiting period for firearm purchases by those on the terror watch list.
“There are a number of ways the minority has a voice on the floor,” McCarthy said, “but that behavior and the breaking of the rules? I don’t think that is what democracy looks like.”
Democrats plan to be “as disruptive … as possible,” this week in order to win votes on the two measures, according to a memo obtained by Fox News from the Congressional Black Caucus, which has been leading the demonstrations.
Drew Hammill, a spokesman for Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., criticized the GOP’s decision to forgo votes on the Democratic proposals, pointing to polls that show Americans favor gun control and prohibiting suspected terrorists from buying firearms.
“Ninety one people die each day from gun violence in this country and the best Speaker Ryan can muster is a meaningless bill written by the NRA,” Hammill said. “The American people are demanding action and the least Speaker Ryan can do is get out of the way.”
