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The cameras are still off in the House chamber. But you can watch the sit-in on this live stream.

Libby Nelson is Vox's policy editor, leading coverage of how government action and inaction shape American life. Libby has more than a decade of policy journalism experience, including at Inside Higher Ed and Politico. She joined Vox in 2014.

Democratic members of Congress have been staging a sit-in on the floor of the House of Representatives for three hours to demand action on gun violence. In response, the presiding chair called a recess — shutting off the cameras that broadcast the action on C-SPAN and HouseLive.gov.

But in response, the members of Congress turned to social media. You can watch the live stream, for now, from a Periscope broadcast by Rep. Scott Peters, a California Democrat:

Even C-SPAN is relying on this stream for its coverage:

Turning off the cameras when the party out of power tries a stunt isn’t unique to Republicans — Democrats did it when Republicans chanted "drill, baby, drill" to protest a House bill in 2008, as CNN’s Dan Berman pointed out. The difference is that now it’s easier for politicians to bypass that by using social media.


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