DNC chair to House GOP: "Stop cowering" on gun control

Washington, DC, June 23, 2016

CBS NEWS

DNC chair to House GOP: "Stop cowering" on gun control

By Reena Flores

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Florida, had some blistering words for House Republicans Thursday, just hours after the majority party adjourned the lower chamber for a two-week recess in an attempt to oust Democrats continuing a gun control sit-in on the floor.

"We will continue to shine a spotlight on this issue," Wasserman Schultz, the chairwoman of Democratic National Committee, said in an interview with "CBS This Morning" early Thursday.

On proposed firearm safety measures, she said, Republicans "don't have to vote for the bill -- but they have to put the bill on the floor and own up to where they are, and stare their constituents in the eye and say yay or nay."

"That's what we're elected to do," said the DNC chair. "And they're running and hiding because of the NRA."

Some 21 Democrats continued their sit-in on the House floor. Republicans held a vote to adjourn the chamber in the 1 a.m. hour Thursday, choosing to head into recess until the July 4th holiday. Wasserman Schultz said that the sit-in will continue even through the recess.

"We are going to hold the floor of the House of Representatives -- we are in our nineteenth hour -- until we can get the majority to do their jobs and get us a vote," she said. "It is a cowardly act that they have not at least allowed a vote."

When pressed on the House speaker's adjournment of the chamber, Wasserman Schultz said "that doesn't mean we can't continue."

The DNC chair made a last push for "no fly, no buy" gun control measures, which would prohibit anyone on a terror watch list from purchasing a gun, and strengthen background checks.

"The Republicans refuse to allow votes on those critical pieces of legislation," Wasserman Schultz criticized. "Look, they can vote however they want, but they need to do their jobs and face the music and stop cowering in the corner because of their fear of the NRA their retribution."

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/dnc-chair-debbie-wasserman-schultz-house-gop-stop-cowering-gun-control-sit-in/