U.S. Rep. Raúl Grijalva during an interview December 2014 for Metro Week.U.S. Rep. Raul Grijalva invoked the name of former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords on the floor of the House Wednesday afternoon, as he called on Speaker Paul Ryan to hold a vote on gun control measures.
Grijalva, D-Ariz., participating in a Democratic sit-in recalled that Giffords and 12 others were wounded and six people were killed in a Tucson shooting Jan. 8, 2011. He called on the speaker to let the House vote on gun control legislation.
“Let the American people hold us accountable," Grijalva said. "Let the American people feel like they're not being used, and let the American people know for once that they have a Congress that is fighting for them, their family and their kids. It’s up to you, Ryan."
Grijalva spoke during an impromptu sit-in by House members that was captured by another member's cell phone because the Republican leadership ordered the House TV cameras turned off, on the grounds that the House was in recess.
Ryan called the Democratic sit-in a publicity stunt.
He and other Republicans have blocked action on gun control measures brought up in the wake of the shooting deaths of 49 people at a nightclub in Orlando, Fla., June 12.
Among the proposals is one that would ban gun purchases by people on the government's no-fly list, generally considered to be a list of terrorism suspects.
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