Rep. Mike Thompson joins House Democrats in sit-in to force vote on gun control legislation

North Coast Rep. Mike Thompson joined other Democrats in a sit-in on the House floor Wednesday, demanding Republicans vote on two pieces of gun control legislation - one of them, his.

The rare move comes one week after a Senate filibuster that resulted in a vote on several pieces of gun control legislation, though all four bills were voted down.

This week’s move was spearheaded by Georgia Rep. John Lewis. Lewis is a hero to Thompson for many reasons, but chief among them, Thompson said, is the civil rights icon’s unwavering courage to stand up - or sit in - for what is right.

“I never would’ve guessed I would be involved in a sit-in with the icon John Lewis,” the St. Helena Democrat said during a telephone interview from Washington. “It was surreal.”

The sit-in began about 10 a.m. and Republicans left shortly thereafter, forcing the House into recess and shutting off the microphones and C-SPAN’s camera feed. With the live feed cut, Democrats turned to social media to create their own broadcasts through Twitter, Facebook and Periscope.

“There are a lot more people watching the show thanks to (the Republicans’) effort to censor it,” Thompson said. “Everyone knew that was going to happen. Quite honestly I’m surprised they didn’t shut the lights off.”

Thompson, a nine-term congressman, lifelong gun owner and Vietnam War veteran, serves as chairman of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force.

He decried the Republicans’ lack of movement on any gun control legislation, including the two bills Democrats demanded action on Wednesday night. One bill, introduced by Thompson and a Republican coauthor just two months after the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., would increase background checks.

The second bill, dubbed “No Fly, No Buy” by its supporters, would prevent anyone on the FBI terror watch list from buying guns.

“The American people are on our side. We just need to get our story out there,” Thompson said. “And hopefully those folks who live in Republican districts will let their member of Congress know that it’s time to take some action to slow down this tragedy of gun violence.”

Thompson said that since the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, there have been 1,358 mass shootings in America, and more than 34,000 people have died from someone using a gun.

“We’ve had 30 moments of silence, and we can’t have a single vote on gun violence prevention legislation?” he said. “I don’t know what, for the life of me, the Republican leadership are afraid of, but whatever it is, it can’t be more frightening than what (the Sandy Hook victims experienced), than what the people who were murdered while praying in Charleston went through. It can’t be more frightening than what happened to the people in Aurora, Colorado, or the San Bernardino massacre, or the Orlando massacre.”

Thompson said House Republicans were expected to return Wednesday night, but many of his colleagues had already brought in pillows to settle in for the night.

It’s a move he’s considering.

“I will not acquiesce,” he said. “I don’t (have a pillow with me), but I don’t live far from here. I can run and get one.”

You can reach Staff Writer Christi Warren at 521-5205 or christi.warren@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @SeaWarren.