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House Republicans Have Agreed To Hold A Vote On Gun Control

Emily Atkin
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of Calif., center, joined by, from left, Rep. Paul Tonko, D-N.Y., House Assistant Minority Leader James Clyburn, of S.C., Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., Rep. Joseph Crowley, D-N.Y., and Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, June 23, 2016, after House Democrats ended their sit in protest on the House floor. CREDIT: AP PHOTO/CAROLYN KASTER
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of Calif., center, joined by, from left, Rep. Paul Tonko, D-N.Y., House Assistant Minority Leader James Clyburn, of S.C., Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., Rep. Joseph Crowley, D-N.Y., and Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, June 23, 2016, after House Democrats ended their sit in protest on the House floor. CREDIT: AP PHOTO/CAROLYN KASTER

There will be a vote on gun control in the House of Representatives.

On Thursday — one week after nearly 170 House Democrats staged a historic sit-in protest on the House floor demanding a vote on on gun control legislation — Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) said he will allow a vote on a bill to prevent suspected terrorists from buying guns.

House Republicans Shut Off Cameras After Democrats Start Sit-In For Gun ControlPolitics by CREDIT: Rep. John Yarmuth Led by civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis (D-GA), Democratic members of Congress…thinkprogress.orgAccording to The Hill, Ryan told Republicans on a conference call “that the House will take up a terrorism package that will include measures to disrupt radicalization and recruitment, as well as a provision to prevent suspected terrorists from purchasing guns.”

Exactly which bill the House would take up was unclear from the conference call, The Hill reported. Because it’s unclear which bill will be brought to the floor, The New York Daily News noted that Ryan could “select a bill considered too weak by most Democrats.”

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If the bill is too weak, there is a possibility that House Democrats will continue to protest in one way or another until a better bill is brought to a vote.

The Problem With Banning Guns From People On The Terrorist Watch ListJustice by CREDIT: AP Photo/Elaine Thompson The main gun control legislation to reach a Senate vote in the wake of last…thinkprogress.orgEarlier this week, Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) — who joined the sit-in protest after his mom called him and told him to — told ThinkProgress that many of his Democratic colleagues “have an appetite to do more than the sit-in,” and that the next action “certainly could be” some form of civil disobedience.

“I don’t know what that is now, but I think we’re going to keep fighting,” he said. “The American people need to know that the Republicans are going to join with us to put some sane gun laws in place.”

Ryan’s announcement also comes 18 days after a gunman killed 49 people inside a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida.