House GOP Solves Gun Violence, By Fining Democrats Who Had Sit-In About Gun Violence

That'll learn 'em!
It took them a while, but House Republicans are finally taking some direct action in response to Democrats' June sit-in calling for a vote on gun safety measures like closing the gun-show loophole for background checks and barring sales of guns to those on terrorist watch lists. No, don't be silly, it's not any legislation on doing either of those things -- the GOP already blew away those proposals with extreme prejudice. But at least they're proposing rules to punish any more disruptive sit-ins, which are a threat to good order and getting work done in the House, at least during the few weeks each year the House actually "works."
Paul Ryan said he wouldn't dwell on the shocking lack of decorum in the House by Democrats who were staging a sit-in to call attention to gun violence. Then he very indecorously dismissed the action as a "publicity stunt" for the sole purpose of raising funds.
Under the proposed new rules package, which was seen by Bloomberg, members could face a $500 fine through deductions to their paychecks for a first offense of using electronic photography or audio or visual recording, as well as for broadcasting from the chamber’s floor. A $2,500 fine would be leveled for the next such offense and each subsequent violation.
The new rules would also prohibit anyone from blocking access to microphones or to the "well" of the House chamber; such disruptions could result in a referral to the Committee on Ethics, with possible sanctions resulting, which ought to teach that troublemaker John Lewis a thing or two about ethics. A spokesperson for Ryan, AshLee Strong, explained in a statement the new rules would "help ensure that order and decorum are preserved in the House of Representatives so lawmakers can do the people’s work,” like eliminating Obamacare, privatizing Medicare, and letting Wall Street write all the banking regulations -- or repeal them, more like.
Did you know the House Democrats' gun control sit-in was very rude and against the rules? Let's punish them!
So far, at least one participant in the sit-in, California Democrat Rep. Eric Swalwell, is all defiant and stuff, taking to Twitter to say he's not scared, and perhaps to dare Republicans to say his name five times fast:
A spokesperson for House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Drew Hammill, said in a statement the rules changes wouldn't make Democrats shut up, no, they would not:
Sadly, the first action of the new Congress will be the passage of rules changes targeting Democratic Members who participated in the 25-hour sit-in following the horrific Pulse shooting in Orlando that killed 49 and wounded more than 50 [...] House Republicans continue to act as the handmaidens of the gun lobby refusing to pass sensible, bipartisan legislation to expand background checks and keep guns out of the hands of terrorists.
Yr Wonkette has not yet seen an official response from the National Rifle Association which as far as we know is still working out a strategy to convince its members that even after Donald Trump is inaugurated, Barack Obama will nevertheless try to take Americans' guns away.
Doktor Zoom's real name is Marty Kelley, and he lives in the wilds of Boise, Idaho. He is not a medical doctor, but does have a real PhD in Rhetoric. You should definitely donate some money to this little mommyblog where he has finally found acceptance and cat pictures. He is on maternity leave until 2033. Here is his Twitter, also. His quest to avoid prolixity is not going so great.