Washington

Borrowing a chapter from the Senate filibuster last week, as well as the civil rights movement of the 1960s, House Democrats on Wednesday staged a sit-in and vowed to continue until the Republican majority holds votes on two gun-related measures.

"Let's put these to a vote,'' said Rep. Paul Tonko, D-Amsterdam, who was on and off the floor throughout the day. "Let people have their representatives speak to these issues.''

About 40 Democrats flooded the House area where the speaker sits — known as the well — and did not disband after the House was called to order for what had seemed like a normal day.

The usual prayer and Pledge of Allegiance were recited, but the Republican at the speaker's desk, Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, called a recess. The normal C-SPAN broadcast of House activity was shut down.

By mid-afternoon, the crowd of Democrats had swelled to 100 or more.

The sit-in quickly became a social media sensation, with bootleg videos appearing online.

C-SPAN went back up with live video feeds from the Periscope account of Rep. Scott Peters, D-Calif.

Late Wednesday, House Democrats chanted "no break, no bill" and nearly drowned out House Speaker Paul Ryan as he gaveled the House back into session for a vote on a non-gun-related resolution.

The sit-in was led by Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., which in itself was rich with symbolism because of Lewis' prominent role in the movement against racial segregation in the 1960s' South. His backup was Rep. John Larson, D-Conn.

At the news conference, House Democrats were joined by gun-safety advocates in speaking and chanting "no bill, no break," reflecting their position that the House should not go into recess unless the votes are held.

Democrats' demands for votes parallel those in the Senate: one on barring gun sales to those whose names appear on the government's terrorism watch list, and the other extending gun-purchase background checks to gun shows and other private transactions.

The House Democrats struck at a strategic time.

Ryan and the rest of GOP House leadership are racing deadlines over the next few weeks to wrap up business and adjourn for the Republican and Democratic presidential nominating conventions.

A disruption in the normal flow of business puts pressure on Ryan.

Among those offering support inside the House chamber was Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., whose nearly 15-hour filibuster last week led to the Senate's consideration of the two same measures Monday evening. The Senate blocked the two proposals, as well as two competing Republican amendments.

But on Tuesday, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and seven colleagues introduced a bipartisan compromise to close the "terror loophole.'' It got generally positive reviews from Democrats but more details have to be hashed out before it wins the 60 votes necessary to get to a full Senate vote.

Ryan was quiet throughout the day but his spokeswoman, AshLee Strong, Tweeted: "The House cannot operate without members following the rules of the institution, so the House has recessed subject to the call of the chair.''

Tonko said the Democratic takeover was born of frustration over Ryan's refusal to hold votes in the wake of mass shootings in Newtown, Conn., San Bernardino, Calif., and the June 12 massacre in Orlando, Fla.

"We've tried everything," Tonko said. "And you resort to the most extreme measures to draw attention to the fact that the silence is deafening.''

The easy availability of guns is "a major issue that has to be addressed,'' he said. "We need to honor the thousands who have been taken from us all too soon.''

To do that, he said, Democrats have to resort to tactics that are "not violent, but extreme.''

Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Willsboro, "is a strong Second Amendment advocate and will continue to work in Congress to reform our nation's mental health system and support commonsense reforms so that we can take action that will help stop gun violence in our country,'' Stefanik spokesman Tom Flanagin said.

"The recent attack in Orlando was a terrible reminder that the threat of terrorism on our homeland remains very real,'' said Flanagin, adding that Stefanik is working to "strengthen our nation's efforts to combat terrorism and radicalism at home and abroad."