Bill Lee: “2 weeks ago, Democrats sat on the House floor for more than 26 hours. For a full day and night, we demanded justice for…”

“2 weeks ago, Democrats sat on the House floor for more than 26 hours. For a full day and night, we demanded justice for victims of gun violence and action to prevent the next tragedy; not just thoughts and prayers, but action. Republicans turned off the mics. They turned off the cameras and just left. They cannot silence our voices because we are speaking for the 80 percent-plus of Americans who support commonsense reforms to stop gun violence, like background checks and keeping guns away from terrorists. While the recent tragedy in Orlando--a tragedy that claimed 49 innocent lives--sparked the sit-in, there have been too many victims of gun violence throughout our country for too many years. In my district in 2012, we suffered a large campus mass shooting. These people were trying to get an education. They were studying to become nurses because they wanted to help people. But their lives were cut too short by gun violence. A man with a semiautomatic weapon killed Tshering Bhutia, Doris Chibuko, Sonam Chodon, Grace Kim, Kathleen Ping, Judith Seymour, and Lydia Sim. Sadly, these aren't the only members of my community who have lost their lives or loved ones to gun violence. Let me remember some of the victims of gun violence in my own community once again. In my district, for example, there were 89 gun deaths in 2015. What is worse, many of these were children. Since July 2009, nearly 50 students in the Oakland Unified School District have been slain.…”