--- title: House Sit In: House Democrats Say Why Staged the Sit-In description: Yesterday it was Periscope, and today Snapchat brought us to the front lines of the Democratic House sit-in for a vote on gun control canonical: https://time.com/4380152/watch-democratic-reps-house-sit-in/ author: Julia Zorthian article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-06-23T17:52:15.000Z article:modified_time: 2023-12-13T07:30:16.000Z article:section: Politics og:title: Watch Democratic Representatives Explain Why They Staged the Sit-in og:description: Rep. Cheri Bustos posted over 40 interviews to Snapchat og:url: https://time.com/4380152/watch-democratic-reps-house-sit-in/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt29db6915723c48b2/69889927bc6cfcdf6d3dd871/dems-explain-why-sit-in-house-floor.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4306 og:image:height: 2422 og:image:alt: dems explain why sit in house floor og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Watch Democratic Representatives Explain Why They Staged the Sit-in twitter:description: Rep. Cheri Bustos posted over 40 interviews to Snapchat twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt29db6915723c48b2/69889927bc6cfcdf6d3dd871/dems-explain-why-sit-in-house-floor.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Watch Democratic Representatives Explain Why They Staged the Sit-in > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Julia Zorthian](https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Updated: Dec 13, 2023 7:30 AM UTCPublished: Jun 23, 2016 5:52 PM UTC  UNITED STATES - FEBRUARY 11: Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Ill., attends a House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee hearing titled "Surface Transportation Reauthorization Bill: Laying the Foundation for U.S. Economic Growth and Job Creation Part I," in Rayburn Building, February 11, 2015\. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx testified.(Photo By Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call) UNITED STATES - FEBRUARY 11: Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Ill., attends a House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee hearing titled "Surface Transportation Reauthorization Bill: Laying the Foundation for U.S. Economic Growth and Job Creation Part I," in Rayburn Building, February 11, 2015\. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx testified.(Photo By Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call) Tom Williams—CQ-Roll Call,Inc.  by [Julia Zorthian](https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Updated: Dec 13, 2023 7:30 AM UTCPublished: Jun 23, 2016 5:52 PM UTC Yesterday [it was Periscope](http://time.com/4379139/sit-in-congress-gun-control-house-democrats/), and today Snapchat brought us to the front lines of the Democratic House sit-in pushing for a vote on gun control legislation. Rep. Cheri Bustos, an Illinois Democrat, posted videos to her Snapchat of more than 40 Democratic Representatives telling their own reasons for sitting in on the floor of the House of Representatives. The Democrats [ended the sit-in Thursday afternoon](http://time.com/4380254/house-sit-in-ends-gun-control-democrats/), though it’s not clear why — many in the video said they would not leave until they voted on gun control. Since the Democrats were “shut down from a communications perspective,” Bustos tells TIME, she drew on her 17-year career as a newspaper reporter to conduct the interviews for her Snapchat Story. “The microphones were turned off. There was an attempt to muffle what we were trying to share with the American public. Through technology, we were able to \[share\] what was going on on the House floor,” says Bustos. “I wanted to show the behind the scenes emotions that were attached with our sit-in.” Bustos added that some of the reps she interviewed didn’t know what Snapchat was, and she would simply ask each member what they hoped to accomplish. > [](https://twitter.com/RepCheri/status/745770495556096001) “Today is a day of history,” said Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi in the footage. “Members of Congress have been empowered and emboldened to speak out for gun safety.” The Democrats all had reasons for fighting for gun control: some cited shootings in their own district, while others said they had enough of reasonable legislation being blocked by Republicans. “\[I’m\] standing here to bring some action to the 30 moments of silence that we’ve had in Congress since I got elected,” said Rep. Grace Meng of New York. Others seemed downright fed up: Rep. Peter DeFazio, for example asked, “Really? We can’t even vote on a bill to prohibit people on terrorist watch lists from buying guns? Really?” A few interviewed were frustrated by their Republican counterparts who went home. “We will not allow the Republican Party to shut down and not address this issue of gun violence,” said congresswoman Brenda Lawrence of Michigan. Earlier Thursday, a spokesperson for Pelosi had [told TIME](http://time.com/4379721/gun-control-sit-in-house-democrats-july/) the House Dems may stay on the floor for days. In the videos, some confirmed they didn’t intend to leave before reaching their goals. “What sprung out of emotion is now action taking place on the floor. No bill, no break,” said Rep. Joe Crowley of New York. “We’re staying ’til we get it done.” Yet as House members surrounded Rep. John Lewis around 1 p.m. Thursday, he indicated the close of the sit-in, and said the efforts would instead continue next month. “We must never, ever give up or give in,” [Lewis said](http://time.com/4380254/house-sit-in-ends-gun-control-democrats/). “We must come back here on July 5th more determined than ever before.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4380152/watch-democratic-reps-house-sit-in/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4380152/watch-democratic-reps-house-sit-in/"},"headline":"Watch Democratic Representatives Explain Why They Staged the Sit-in","datePublished":"2016-06-23T17:52:15.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-13T07:30:16.000Z","description":"Rep. 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