House Speaker Paul Ryan Paul Davis RyanKenosha will be a good bellwether in 2020 At indoor rally, Pence says election runs through Wisconsin Juan Williams: Breaking down the debates MORE (R-Wis.) put it well. The sit-in staged by congressional Democrats was just a "publicity stunt." He rightfully pointed out that the Democratic National Committee immediately sent out fundraising requests. The unfortunate truth is that even though congressional Democrats have promised to resume their action on July 7, when the House of Representatives reconvenes, nothing will come of it unless concerned citizens shake off their passivity and mass in front of the Capitol building.

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The abject fear that Republicans have of the National Rifle Association (NRA) was made palpably clear when, concurrent with Ryan's pronouncement, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell Addison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellMomentum growing among Republicans for Supreme Court vote before Election Day Trump expects to nominate woman to replace Ginsburg next week Video of Lindsey Graham arguing against nominating a Supreme Court justice in an election year goes viral MORE (R-Ky.) used an arcane but clever move to table compromise gun control legislation bubbling its way up through the Senate. The signal was clear: Republican leaders were going to provide "cover" for their fellow legislators seeking election and not wanting to be confronted by an embarrassing vote. Why? The message had been plastered all over the media that a CNN/ORC poll conducted June 16 through June 19 showed that 92 percent of Americans support background checks, 85 percent favor banning sale of firearms to those on the Terrorist Watchlist, 87 percent support banning sales to convicted felons or people with mental health issues and 54 percent favored an assault weapons ban.

Even Democrats can figure out that this is a winning issue. When the country has reached a consensus, it would seem like an opportune time to press for change. Americans want action to reduce gun violence and, properly handled, the issue can force the opposition party to either concede or face the fact that an embarrassing election issue is going to haunt them right into the polling booth.

But Ryan has the gavel and as we have become only too painfully aware, the leader in the House has the power to control the agenda. If he will not allow an issue to come to the floor, it will not come to the floor. It doesn't take too much insight to recognize that Ryan is embattled and defensive at the moment and has clearly dug in his heels with no intention of changing course.

Think about what he confronts. He has to put up with the daily offenses of the Republican presumptive presidential nominee, 35 percent of his caucus has Tea Party written all over their policy positions, the NRA is a consistent supplier of campaign funding, the Second Amendment support system is part of the backbone of the Republican Party, Republicans face strong opposition in the upcoming November election, and to top it all off, Ryan is defending and promoting his own brand of conservatism which simply doesn't allow for compromise on issues like who should own a gun.

Gun control legislation will not come to the floor of the House of Representatives.

Unless ...

Unless overwhelming political pressure is brought to bear. The Democrats sitting around on the floor of the House talking about the good old times during the civil rights era isn't going to cut it. If anything, it highlights the pathetic state of the political class with a bunch of overweight millionaires doing penance for years of indolence.

But if a million people mass on the steps of the House of Representatives, that is a completely different story. More to the point, the fact that there is a two-week window during which time the march on Washington can be organized, well, that makes the calculus much more practical.

We live in an era where ruling elites have been in position to defy the popular will with remarkable consistency. There are so many issues where the majority of Americans want to see change where little or nothing has been done. Think about closing corporate tax loopholes; taxing the wealthy; balancing the budget; restructuring the financial safety networks of Social Security and Medicare; closing Guantanamo; ending the wars; abortion funding; educational support; environmental policy; immigration reform; and the list goes on. If you want to really get depressed about the responsiveness of government to the will of the people, go to PollingReport.com ("An independent, nonpartisan resource on trends in American public opinion") and scroll through the compendium of issue areas where polling results are compiled. It is instructive as to just how far away from the popular will the U.S. government stands.

So, nothing will happen unless ordinary folks make it happen. As has been said so many times in the past, there will be no political change unless politicians are made to be more afraid of the people than they are of their donor class.

So the assemblage in Washington on July 7 is an essential. Equally essential is that it be orderly, peaceful, but with an attitude. The attitude has to be one of defiance and indignation. It wouldn't hurt to have a few celebrities along to make the case. House Speaker Ryan will only be swayed by the force of numbers. It is time for all those screaming for change get out on the streets and demand change.

Russell is managing director of Cove Hill Advisory Services.