Dozens of U.S. House Democrats staged a protest in the House chamber yesterday, demanding a vote on gun control legislation. Shouting ensued when Speaker Paul Ryan gaveled the House back in for late-night votes after a recess that had lasted most of the day. The “#NoBillNoBreak” sit-in kept going overnight and continues this morning, even though House Republicans voted to adjourn until July 5 shortly after a 3 am vote on a Zika virus funding bill. UPDATE: Democrats ended the protest early Thursday afternoon.

Iowa’s Representative Dave Loebsack joined the sit-in late yesterday morning and stayed for much of the day. He returned to the House floor Wednesday evening, giving a short speech around 10 pm central time. O.Kay Henderson posted the full audio clip at Radio Iowa. My partial transcript is below.

I would prefer for the sit-in to be about legislation such as stronger background checks or an assault weapons ban, rather than the “no fly, no buy” bill that has grabbed the most attention since the Orlando massacre. But it is symbolically important for Democrats to stand up to the National Rifle Association and expose Republican cowardice on this issue. Eric Boehlert observed last night that in 1999, “31 Senate Republicans voted in favor of mandating background checks at gun shows,” and in 1994, “42 House Republicans voted for President Bill Clinton’s crime bill, which included a ban on assault weapons.” Now hardly any Congressional Republicans will back even the most popular gun control measures. Large majorities of Republicans and many gun owners support universal background checks, including for private gun sales.

Representative Steve King showed up in the House chamber Wednesday evening, around the time Loebsack spoke. Unlike his GOP colleague Louis Gohmert, King didn’t mix it up with Democrats. But a little before 2 am, he vented on Twitter, “I’ve had it with the gun grabbing Democrats and their sit in anti 2nd amendment jihad. I’m going to go home and buy a new gun.”

Apparently he is under the impression that Democrats get upset when someone buys a gun. As long as the purchase happens with an appropriate background check, I couldn’t care less if King prefers to spend money on additional firearms. I trust the congressman will store his new weapon appropriately, so his young grandchildren can’t get hold of it and hurt someone.

Excerpts from Representative Dave Loebsack’s speech on the House floor around 10 pm central time on June 22 (my transcript based on audio posted at Radio Iowa):

I came to the floor this morning because I really wanted to make sure that we had a vote on gun safety legislation. And I came back tonight to demand that we have these votes on gun safety legislation. And in the meantime, Speaker [Paul] Ryan was on CNN, and he called what we’re doing a “stunt.” I was, I was actually taken aback in some way. To call this a stunt is really to belittle what is happening here tonight. […]

All we are asking for is a vote, folks. There’s nothing about this that’s a stunt. This is a reality. We’re talking about 32,000 deaths a year. Yes, we’re talking about 49 in Orlando. This is not a stunt. This is serious business. This is the people’s house, as has been said over and over throughout the day. We demand a vote. The people want a vote on these issues, folks. That’s why we’re here tonight. This isn’t a stunt. This is as far from a stunt as we could possibly have. So we’re serious about this, folks. […]

We are tonight mobilizing not only people in this body, but thousands and hopefully tens of thousands of people around this country, and senators will listen if we have a vote and if it passes. That’s why I’m here tonight, so I can speak out on this issue, so I can speak for those folks who’ve been victims of gun violence, for the survivors, for the families, for all the rest. And I thank [Representative] John [Lewis] for organizing this. I thank all of you who have come tonight. […]

No bill, no break. No fly, no buy. That’s what this is about, folks.