Dems shout down Ryan over 'moment of silence' for Orlando

A day after a mass shooting in Orlando, Democratic lawmakers erupted on the House floor with loud criticism of House Speaker Paul Ryan and other Republican leaders for leaving the nation’s gun laws untouched. Some protested by leaving the House chamber during a moment of silence honoring the victims.

Democrats yelled “Where’s the bill?” and “No leadership!” Monday evening after Ryan held a moment of silence for 49 people killed at an Orlando nightclub early Sunday.

Before Clyburn could finish, Ryan ruled his question out of order and directed the House to move to the next vote.

Democrats, led by President Barack Obama, have been trying for two years to enact gun control reform that would bar suspected terrorists from obtaining firearms. They also want to prevent sales of military assault weapons and high-volume clips to ordinary citizens.

There have been eight high-profile public mass shootings since July of last year, according to a database compiled by Mother Jones magazine. Assault-style rifles were used in seven of those, the Washington Post reported.

In the past 10 years, assault-style rifles have been used in 14 public mass shootings, and half of those shootings have occurred since last June.

A handful of Democrats left the House floor during the moment of silence called by Ryan, including Connecticut Rep. Jim Himes. Himes said earlier Monday in an interview that he’s done with the moments typically held on the House floor after mass shootings, calling them “obnoxious expressions of smug incompetence” and the perfect metaphor for congressional inaction on guns.

Himes’ Connecticut district is close to Newtown, where a gunman killed 20 first-graders and six adults at an elementary school in 2012.