Mine is not a political blog, but I would feel remiss and cowardly if I did not hold John Lewis, the moral conscience of Congress and a man who has been trusted and admired for almost all of his 76 years, for “moving his feet” and leading a sit-in of members.  of the House of Representatives.

These representatives ask to be permitted to vote on a measure to restrict or delay the sale of lethal combat weapons to people known to be mentally ill or on lists of people known to want to harm Americans.

People who oppose such a vote do not wish to have their names recorded in opposition to the bill. It seems the answer to all of these deaths is to throw nasty words at people we call “terrorists,” but let them buy the weapons they need to kill us and our innocent  children and young people, whose lives are so much ahead of them.

Lewis has said  repeatedly that he is not seeking to ban firearms or repeal the Second Amendment, which is so very important to so many people. His proud conscience – he marched with Martin Luther King in Selma – and courteous request touched my heart and soul.

I will not tell you how to feel or what to  believe or support, that is up to each of us. But I did not want to wake up in the morning wishing I was one of the people who had found a way to move their feet, not after putting up cute and cheerful photographs and stories about our Open House.  I can do that again tomorrow.

I was moved by his simple words and his willingness to move his feet rather than simple send an e-mail or text message:

The cameras were turned off by leaders in the House of Representatives, who refuse to even permit a vote on the legislation. Lewis’s very eloquent remarks were not broadcast by official House cameras, they were transmitted on an app by a Congressmen who had never taken videos on his phone before, relayed to C-Span, and broadcast to the nation.

As of these writing, the leaders of the U.S. House of Representatives are meeting in secret to stop John Lewis and his protest and  remove him from the House chamber.

This renegade transmission of free speech and moral argument is the best part of the new world, it is no longer possible for powerful people to hide. This is beyond partisan politics, it sails over the heads of the left and the right and the weakness of leaders.

The video went instantly viral. You can see a part of it here, it is a remarkable moment in our moral and political lives, it had powerful symbolism.

Here is part of what Lewis, who is 76, said when he sat down on the floor of the House of Representatives and promised to stay there until a vote was permitted:

“Sometimes you have to do something out of the ordinary. Sometimes you have to make a way out of no way. We have been quiet for too long. There comes a time when you have to say something, when you have to make a little noise, when you have to move your feet. This is the time. Now is the time to get in the way. The time to act is now. We will be silent no more.”

Perhaps it is time to move our feet. For Orlando, for Newtown, for all the children, teachers and pupils, the lost brothers and sisters, lovers, mothers, grandmothers and grandfathers, fathers and friends. For all the funerals of the innocents.

The House leadership has promised to regain control of the floor, from Lewis and his followers by force if necessary. You can follow this story here if you wish.