Kim Russell was on a date in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1999 when the conversation turned to the school shooting at Columbine high school four days earlier.
The Colorado attack was horrific, she and her date agreed, but they thought it would never happen again.
That same evening, they were robbed at gunpoint. Russell had a gun held to her head, but she survived. Her date, Philip, was killed.
Nearly 20 years later, after an increasing number of high-profile mass shootings across the country, Russell, now part of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, stood in a park in Manhattan, holding Philip’s picture.
She was one of hundreds of gun control advocates across the country joining Democratic members of Congress to keep pressure on House Republicans to take action on gun control legislation when the House is back in session on Tuesday.
At least 57 members of Congress were hosting 38 events nationwide, according to a tally of events from House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, who called the sit-in on the floor of the House a “new dawn of a new day” in Washington.
At the New York event, led by Democratic congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, advocates sat down and sang a new version of the civil rights anthem, We Shall Overcome. “We shall stop the guns,” they sang.
Congress has passed no major gun control legislation since the 1994 federal assault weapon ban, which expired in 2004. Even the mass shooting of 20 first-graders at Sandy Hook elementary school in Connecticut was not enough to end the political opposition to tightening America’s gun laws.
Last week, in the wake of the attack on an Orlando nightclub, the largest mass shooting in recent American history, Democrats staged a dramatic, 26-hour Capitol Hill sit-in, demanding a vote on gun control legislation. After Republicans cut off the video feed of the House floor, Democratic politicians used their cellphones to stream coverage of their protest. The passionate public response seemed to surprise even Democratic leaders, who ended the sit-in with a promise to keep the momentum going.
In polls, a majority of Americans say they favor stricter gun control laws, including requiring background checks on all gun sales. But the American gun control movement has long struggled with an “intensity gap” compared to gun rights advocates. It’s not yet clear how many Americans would show up at Wednesday’s local events to support the House Democrats’ push for more action in Congress. At Congresswoman Maloney’s event in New York, the turnout was small: about two dozen people, mostly long time gun control advocates.
Representative John Lewis, the civil rights icon who led the sit-in last week, held a community meeting on gun violence at the Ebenezer Baptist church in Atlanta. He tweeted out a photograph of a small room packed with people.
Democrats were also hosting a sit-in on Wednesday at San Francisco’s public hospital and trauma center. At least 200 people were expected to attend, according to the office of Representative Mike Thompson.
Congressional Democrats from Chicago held a rally downtown in Federal Plaza. The crowd held signs with the slogan “disarm hate”. The event drew 250 to 300 people, according to estimates from Representative Robin Kelly’s office. Representative Steny Hoyer, a House Democratic leader from Maryland, also attended the Chicago rally, leading a chant highlighting the loophole which allows people to buy guns legally even if they are on the counterterrorism no-fly list.
“No fly,” he called out.
“No buy!” the crowd chanted back.
“That’s common sense!” Hoyer said. “Put a bill on the floor and let us vote.”
House Democrats have been pushing for Paul Ryan, the Republican speaker of the House, to allow votes on measures to make it more difficult for people on terrorism watchlists to buy guns, as well as to expand requirements for background checks on gun sales.
Some congressional Democrats are also pushing for a renewed federal ban on military-style rifles, like the one used at the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, and high-capacity immunity magazines.
In a press call, Arizona congressman Ruben Gallego said he thought it was possible for House Democrats to get a vote on new gun control legislation before the November elections.
Senate Democrats secured a vote after Orlando on four gun-related measures – two supported by Democrats, and two by Republicans, both sets of legislation focused on improving the background checks system for gun sales and making it harder for people on terrorism watchlists to buy guns. All four measures failed.
“We feel that we can get something on the floor,” Gallego said. “The public sentiment is for sensible gun reform. The only way we’re going to do that is to force the hand of the Republicans. They are entirely in the control of the NRA.”
“All we need is for Speaker Ryan to have some kind of courage and let it come to the floor and have some kind of up or down vote on it,” Gallego said.
At the New York City event, Monica Atiya, from the Upper East Side for Change, struck a softer note. She said she wants to reach out to constituents in Ryan’s home state to force him to take action.
“We need to appeal to appeal to Speaker Ryan as a father and an American so he will listen to what is clearly the vast majority of the American people,” Atiya said.
