Connecticut reps blast GOP move to avoid another House sit-in
A plan by House Republicans to discourage another live-streamed sit-in protest like the one Democrats staged this summer demanding a vote on gun control is drawing sharp criticism from Connecticut’s congressional delegation.
“This draconian rule that Republicans have come up with is in essence a gag order on victims of gun violence and does not allow the minority an opportunity to vote,” said 1st District U.S. Rep. John Larson of East Hartford, who organized the 25-hour sit-in on the House floor in June with Rep. John Lewis of Georgia. “It fines us for protesting, and in essence is a surrender to the gun lobby.”
The proposed rule change would fine a member of Congress $500 for using electronics to transmit videos or images from the House floor. The fine, which would increase to $2,500 for a second offense, would be deducted from the lawmaker’s salary.
“To be fining people for free speech is wrong and I will take on that challenge,” said 5th District U.S. Rep. Elizabeth Esty, a third-term Democrat whose district includes Sandy Hook, where 26 school children and educators were massacred in 2012.
U.S. Rep. Jim Himes agreed in a statement on his Facebook page, likening the GOP’s proposed rule change to an effort to silence free speech.
“This will only strengthen our resolve and encourage us to fight until we end all senseless gun violence,” said Himes, a Democrat who represents Bridgeport, Stamford and Greenwich as part of Connecticut’s 4th District.
Esty, Larson and fellow Democrats shut down the House of Representatives for a day in late June after majority Republicans refused to allow a vote on two gun policy amendments.
It came weeks after 49 people werer murdered in an Orlando nightclub, and because Congress had not voted on any gun safety legislation since the Sandy Hook massacre.
When Republicans turned off the microphones and cameras that feed C-SPAN coverage of the House, and walked out on the protesting Democrats, some lawmakers, in violation of House rules, used cell phones to transmit their dissent live on social media.
“It caught fire with the American people, and I think the Republicans were embarrassed,” Esty said on Wednesday. “What we were doing was borne out of frustration about not getting any action of any sort on a debate with life and death importance.”
The House will vote on the rule change as part of a larger package when Congress convenes on Jan. 3.
A spokeswoman for House Speaker Paul Ryan said Tuesday that the fines were designed to preserve decorum, so that lawmakers could govern effectively.
One political expert agreed with the premise of the rule change, saying it would discourage Democrats and Republicans equally from creating high-profile disruptions.
“I think this is a sensible rule,” said Dennis Hale, associate professor of political science at Boston College. “The availability of social media is only going to make this type of protest more attractive, and you don’t want to multiply opportunities to shut down the business of the House in order to make a point when you don’t have the votes to win.”
Larson on Wednesday conceded that the House needs rules of order to function responsibly. He said that he and Lewis did not tell their own party’s leaders ahead of time about their sit-in plans in June, because they knew they were breaking House rules.
But Larson pledged to fight the rule change, in spite of the GOP’s 241-194 advantage in the House.
“There is the need for decorum and protocol, but there is also the need to redress grievances,” Larson said. “Is this (fine) going to stop people from speaking out? No. But it is trying to suppress free speech, and we will vigorously oppose this rule.”