GOP Rep. Louie Gohmert Screams "Radical Islam!" at Democrats During Congressional Sit-In

Impact

Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) perfectly captured the insanity of America's gun control debate Wednesday when he disrupted a sit-in at the U.S. House of Representatives by screaming, "Radical Islam!" at protesters.

Mic/YouTube

"Radical Islam killed these people!" Gohmert yelled, interrupting a speech by Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.). "Radical Islam!"

Gohmert was referencing the mass shooting that left 50 people dead at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, on June 12, an attack that prompted a wave of proposed gun control measures in Congress.

The nightclub shooter, Omar Mateen, was Muslim, as well as a documented racist, homophobe and domestic abuser. His attack marked the 173rd mass shooting in the U.S. in 2016 alone — suggesting that perhaps easy access to guns is of more pressing concern than the shooter's religion.

House Democrats have been urging stronger gun control measures ever since, while Republicans — like Gohmert — have been blaming Muslim terrorists and blocking gun control votes in Congress.

Pete Marovich/Getty Images

The Democratic push to force Congress to pass gun control legislation has repeatedly been thwarted by House Republicans, who voted down four proposed measures June 15 after a 15-hour filibuster led by Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.).

At least 170 Democrats have participated in the ongoing sit-in since it started shortly before noon Wednesday, according to reports. A small number remained protesting on the House floor Thursday morning.

Republicans, it's safe to say, are not happy about the protest.

Exhibit A: Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) deriding the Democrats' efforts as a "publicity stunt."

Exhibit B: The full video below of Rep. Gohmert screaming at Sherman.

The irony is that Democrats are fighting to pass a law that's been criticized as racist and ineffectual.

They essentially want to make it illegal for people to buy guns if they are on the federal government's terrorist watch-list — a list on which nearly half the people have "no recognized terrorist group affiliation," according to the Intercept, and that unfairly targets Arab-Americans for inclusion.

In related news: everything is a mess.

Read more: