Last June, a week after Republicans obstructed gun control legislation shortly after the Orlando mass shooting, congressional Democrats organized a “sit-in” protest. More than 60 members sat or stood on the House floor and refused to yield, even through the nights, with their staffers bringing in sleeping bags and pillows. With the support of President Obama and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, the move was unprecedented — but Democrats believed such a public headline-grabbing measure had become a last resort in the face of unprecedented GOP obstruction on such a critical issue.

Republicans, who held the majority and decide when the House is and is not technically “in session,” declared the House in recess, turning off the cameras that feed into C-SPAN. As a circumvent, some members of Congress used their cell phones to take video and stream it live on services such as Facebook, YouTube, and Periscope — attracting millions of viewers in the process.

Last week, Republicans passed a resolution that penalizes video filming on the House floor.

What the resolution does

House Resolution H.Res. 5, which came up for a vote on the first day of the new session, sets internal rules for the Congress that just took effect for the House only. While the resolution contains a number of provisions, most of them minutia and related to esoteric House rules, one provision has attracted particular attention.

A $500 fine will now be levied on any member who records photos or video on the House floor. That financial penalty will increase to $2,500 for a member’s second protest onward. Although any fine could be appealed the House Ethics Committee,

The rule passed in a 234–193 vote on January 3 on the complete package of rules for the 115th Congress. Zero Democrats voted in favor. Only three Republicans voted against: Reps. Thomas Massie (R-KY4), Justin Amash (R-MI3), and Walter Jones (R-NC3).

What supporters say

Republicans point out that the rule merely enforces a longtime ban on taking photos or video on the House floor, but that rule had never really been enforced and didn’t have specific punishments associated with it. They also note that they amended the rules to allow any fine to be appealed to the House Ethics Committee.

House Rules Chairman Pete Sessions (R-TX32) said the new rule was little different from the current $200 fine for members who submit the financial disclosure forms after the deadline.

Republicans also note that House Democrats tried to pull essentially the exact same move in August 2008. House Republicans were speaking on the floor about offshore drilling when Democrats adjourned the House and ended the C-SPAN feed. The essentially difference then was that such live streaming platforms as Facebook Live, Periscope, and YouTube’s live-streaming feature had not yet achieved prominence in the mass culture.

What opponents say

Opponents, almost entirely Democrats, believe the rules were created by House Republicans purely out of spite. Opponents also argue that although any fine can be appealed to the House Ethics Committee, it’s highly unlikely that the Republican-led committee would nullify any fine aimed at a Democratic member, as 2016’s protests were.

“When House leadership denied the will of the people to bring strong gun violence legislation to the floor, as a last resort, we staged a sit-in here in the Well to give voice to their mandate. As members of Congress, we have a sworn duty to speak up and speak out, if we do not believe the actions of this body represent the will of all Americans,” said Rep. John Lewis (D-GA5), the leader of last year’s sit-in. “We should never ever give up the right to protest for what is right, what is good, and what is necessary.”

Rep. John Larson (D-CT1) told the Connecticut Mirror that Democrats would openly defy the new rules and continue their protests and filming regardless.

This article was written by GovTrack Insider staff writer Jesse Rifkin.