House Speaker Paul Ryan sought some agreement from the public on Twitter about House Democrats who are staging a sit-in to force a vote on gun-control legislation.

"Retweet if you agree," Ryan said in the tweet on Wednesday. "The sit-in by House Democrats is nothing more than a publicity stunt."

In a CNN interview earlier on Wednesday, Ryan said that House Democrats "know that we will not bring a bill that takes away a person's constitutionally guaranteed rights without ... due process."

The speaker's tweet drew some immediate rebukes. Here's some of them:

US politicians are often taken to task when they speak on social media about controversial issues. Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, Hillary Clinton, faces consistent fire from people who oppose her policy positions, as does Republican nominee, Donald Trump, and many others.

In the case of Paul Ryan, gun-rights supporters who are against gun-control legislation appeared to be amenable to his initial request for agreement. Ryan's tweet ultimately racked up thousands of retweets.