U.S. House members Sit In Democrats staged a s
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Democrats staged a sit-in on the House floor Wednesday to push for a vote on gun control legislation .
Led by civil rights veteran Georgia Rep. John Lewis, more than two dozen Democrats began the protest shortly before noon.
"Now is the time for us to find a way to dramatize it, to make it real," Lewis said. "We have to occupy the floor of the House until there is action.
"We have turned deaf ears to the blood of the innocent and the deaths in our nation. Mr. Speaker, where is the heart of this body. Where is our soul?
"How many more mothers, how many more fathers have to share tears of grief before we decide to do anything?"
Some Democrats sat cross-legged on the chamber floor, taking selfies and tweeting about their sit-in, which was not televised because the House wasn't formally in session.
Democrats have been pressing for action on gun control before the House leaves at the end of this week for a planned recess.
Four gun policy measures failed on Monday to move forward in the Senate. The votes came in the wake of a deadly shooting spree in a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla., and a subsequent 15-hour filibuster by Senate Democrats who demanded action on gun control.