Whenever anyone writes about Illinois representative Tammy Duckworth, they're almost obligated to start with her résumé: She holds multiple doctorate degrees and is the first Asian-American woman elected to Congress in Illinois. She's a veteran of the Iraq war and lost both of her legs when a rocket-propelled grenade took out the helicopter she was piloting, earning her a Purple Heart. And if I had to wager a guess, she's probably the first rep to hide her phone in a prosthetic leg so that it wouldn't be taken away during a Democrat sit-in to demand a vote on gun control.

On Wednesday, Duckworth joined other House Democrats for a 16-hour sit-in to call for a vote on gun measures in the wake of Orlando. When Republicans, led by House Speaker Paul Ryan, opted to turn off the C-Span cameras, Democrats used their phones to fire up Periscope, Twitter, and other apps to distribute their message to the masses. Per the Chicago Tribune:

"Chicago is going through an epidemic of gun violence that is horrific," Duckworth said. "It is absolutely horrific." The Hoffman Estates lawmaker, who is challenging Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., said there were more powerful weapons on U.S. streets than the standard Army rifles given to soldiers when she served in Iraq.

The whole thing made for a dramatic and arguably powerful bit of political theater. (Bernie Sanders even showed up!) And one doofy Republican lawmaker from Texas even got in on the noise when he started shouting "radical Islam!" a couple of times, which was most certainly weird. In any case, when it comes to sensible gun policy, few people are as qualified to speak on the topic as Duckworth, who offered to take Republicans voting down party lines duck hunting or to a shooting range to discuss potential legislation. It's unclear if any of these fools will take up her offer.