House Democrats wrapped up a daylong sit-in Thursday without winning concessions on gun control, leaving town empty-handed after Republicans accused them of co-opting the chamber floor for a “publicity stunt” designed to fill party coffers.
Across the Capitol, a majority of senators expressed support for a proposal designed to deny gun sales to those on the FBI’s heightened screening lists — a bipartisan attempt to carve a middle path between the extremes that have dominated the gun debate in the wake of the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history.
The measure by Sen. Susan M. Collins, Maine Republican, was supported by 52 senators in its first test vote — 46 wanted to kill it — yet fell short of the 60 votes needed to overcome a possible filibuster.
Democrats sensed they had gained ground on the pro-gun lobby and urged Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican, to proceed with the bill anyway.
“Today’s vote represented the largest defection of Republicans from the gun lobby in the modern history of the anti-gun-violence movement, and it signals that the ground is shifting under our feet on this issue,” said Sen. Christopher Murphy, Connecticut Democrat.
The Collins compromise would allow people on screening lists to challenge their status in court and is more limited than what Democrats want. But it bucks Republicans by putting the judicial burden on the purchaser to make the case for buying a gun rather than the FBI to make a case for rejecting it.
The Senate voted to kill a competing measure by Sen. Ron Johnson, Wisconsin Republican, though supporters of the Collins compromise said the Republican-favored alternative managed to siphon off support from theirs.
The Senate voted hours after House Democrats decamped from a 1960s-style protest in the chamber to demand tighter rules on gun ownership in the wake of a rampage that killed 49 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida.
The House Democrats also raised money from the effort as the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee blasted out emails asking for support.
Democrats stormed the front of the chamber early Wednesday, stayed for 26 hours and vowed to regroup when the House reconvenes July 5.
“It is a struggle, but we’re going to win this struggle,” said Rep. John Lewis, the Georgia Democrat and civil rights icon who kicked off the protest.
House Speaker Paul D. Ryan, Wisconsin Republican, decried the sit-in as a “fundraising scheme” that flouted chamber rules.
“I think it sets a very poor precedent,” said Mr. Ryan, adding that it was “not a proud moment for democracy.”
The standoff led to remarkable scenes as Republicans held overnight votes on Zika funding and President Obama’s “fiduciary rule” over the shouts of protesting Democrats.
“We are not going to let stunts like this stop us from carrying out the people’s business,” Mr. Ryan told reporters at his weekly press conference.
Leaders gaveled out the chamber at 3:15 a.m., putting off further business for nearly two weeks.
Democrats pressed on through social media, broadcasting heart-wrenching stories about victims of gun violence. The House shuts off C-SPAN’s cameras when the chamber is not in session.
They finished around 1 p.m. Thursday.
“We are going back to our congressional districts, and we are going to engage our constituents on this subject, and we will not allow this body to ever feel as comfortable as they have in the past to silence our voices,” said Assistant Minority Leader James E. Clyburn, South Carolina Democrat. “The time will come on July 5 when we will return to this hallowed hall, and at that time we will be operating with a renewed sense of purpose.”
The protest gained widespread attention, yet it is unlikely to break the legislative logjam. In particular, Democrats want Republican leaders to schedule a vote on legislation that would expand background checks on gun sales or prevent suspected terrorists on the nation’s no-fly list from buying firearms.
Mr. Ryan said the effort failed at the committee level and would flop in the Senate, so Democrats don’t seem to have an endgame to combat violence while protecting Second Amendment rights.
“In this country, we do not take away people’s constitutional rights without due process,” the speaker said.
Mr. Ryan said that if Democrats were serious about passing gun legislation, they would force a floor vote by gathering majority support for a discharge petition.
“They’re not bothering with these things,” he said. “They’re looking for publicity stunts.”
Sit-ins are rare in the chamber, but Democrats held the floor amid a budget standoff in 1995, and Republicans in 2008 pleaded for more domestic drilling to reduce gas prices.
A House Republican leadership aide said Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the California Democrat who was speaker in 2008, shut off not only the chamber’s cameras, but also the lights.
Mrs. Pelosi said Thursday that the Democrats’ gun crusade was not about politics.
“It’s not about elections. It’s not about campaigns,” she said. “It’s about the safety of the American people.”
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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