Courtesy of Lawrence JacksonWatching #NoBillNoBreak from the galleries overlooking the House of Representatives was like watching a play from the front rows, complete with overacted stage heroics and rowdy fight scenes.
Out of frustration from not being able to pass any gun control laws in the wake of another gruesome mass shooting, Democrats in the House of Representatives resorted to unconventional protest tactics: they literally sat down on the house floor and demanded that Paul Ryan, speaker of the House, put the proposal to use the No Fly List as the starting ground for some common sense gun control to a vote.
Being a Poli Sci student in DC, I figured that this was a perfect time to visit Congress and witness democracy in action! And despite getting lost and having to wait in line for nearly an hour, it was totally worth it to watch the spectacle in person.
It was political theatre at its flashiest and everyone watching, ether in the gallery or online, was part of the audience. In the starring role was Representative John Lewis, a hero from the Civil Rights movement, as well as the other 168 Democrats with him. The show wasn’t lacking in the props department either. In addition to a pink striped pillow, they brought an abundance of posters with the pictures and names of the people who died in Orlando.
Of course a good drama needs action, and the audience got it. When House Republicans came swarming into the room, the audience found an enemy to boo at. There was Louie Gohmert, the cockamamie (not the right word for our audience?) representative from Texas who tried to fire back with his own heckling as he pointed and yelled “radical Islam killed those poor people!” But that wasn’t enough as Gohmert and the other Republicans were drowned out by the thunderous chants of “No bill, no break” coming from over a hundred Democrats in the room. With the audience in the gallery cheering too, you could barely hear anything on stage.
Now some of you might be wondering why I’m talking about the sit-in as if it were a stage play, and why I’m making light of gun control here. While I agree that gun laws in America are in need of serious reform if they want to curb gun related violence, I assure you that I didn’t turn the proceedings into a circus. The circus was already there.
Despite the protest’s moniker no bill, no break, there was no way the sit-in would’ve had an impact on policy. The chance that a vote would’ve been allowed were was slim from the beginning. Indeed, after 26 hours the protest broke before getting a vote on the bill due to the Democrats’ assurance that the battle would go on regardless followed by their dramatic exit.
It’s also worth remembering that protests are tools best utilized for those without a better way to get their voices heard to lawmakers. But when it’s the legislators themselves protesting in the very place they write laws, it’s not as admirable. When you’re literally the state, it isn’t that impressive when you occupy yourself.
The third flaw in the whole charade is that they chose the no-fly, no-buy bill to rally around, despite the heavy criticism that has followed. The No Fly List, a relic from 2001 when fears of Islamic terrorism was at its highest, is hardly a good place to start with its opaque definitions on of who is or isn’t a threat. Aside from racial and religious discrimination against Arabs and Muslims, the No Fly List is prone to glitches that lists the occasional toddler as a potential threat, a sure testament of its contributions to air safety. It’s bizarre that this proposal is being sold as “common sense” gun legislation.
So yes, the Democrat’s sit-in was a well-intentioned stunt, a flashy show of solidarity to get people riled but little more. If anything, it goes to show how polarized U.S. politics is — both parties have resorted to discarding institutional norms and the rules of their own democracy and due process. We might think the way Trump grabs attention is insufferable, but such tactics might be becoming the new norm, so go ahead and bring the popcorn.
