ATLANTA – US Congressman John Lewis said Monday in Atlanta the battle over gun control reform is far from over.
The Georgia Democrat helped lead a sit-in at the US Capitol last week, and he says this is just the beginning.
As it is, both sides in the House of Representatives say they are not budging over gun legislation.
Lewis says he believes high profile, high stakes showdowns like last week’s sit-in can force the other side to budge by swaying public opinion behind the Democrats, to convince the Republican leadership to schedule votes on gun restrictions.
So, after the Fourth of July recess, Lewis says House Democrats will strike again.
“Well, there will be something next,” Lewis said Monday. “This is not the end. This is just a down payment, until we get the Congress to bring forth a major piece of legislation to end the proliferation of guns in our country.”
House Speaker Paul Ryan says he will not allow a repeat of last week’s disruption – a publicity stunt he called it last week.
Lewis says that is what opponents of the sit-ins of the 1960s called them, then – publicity stunts. But he says they work.
Lewis says Congress members on both sides of the political aisle got a reminder last week that the tactics and techniques of the 1960s are, as he puts it, still fresh and smart, and will get results.