'We have been too quiet for too long,' said Rep. John Lewis, the civil rights icon.

Dozens of House Democrats staged a sit-in on the House floor Wednesday in protest of the GOP leadership’s refusal to allow a vote on a gun control measure following the Orlando massacre.

Led by Reps. John Lewis (D-Ga.), the civil rights icon, and John Larson (D-Conn.), more than 40 Democrats walked into the chamber just before noon and pledged to “occupy” the House floor until GOP leadership allowed a vote. In one hour, their numbers more than tripled — even as Republicans recessed the House, turning off C-SPAN cameras and the video feed to the public.

Democrats countered the TV camera blackout by streaming everything on their cellphones, which ended up on C-SPAN anyway.

Democrats have tried numerous times over the past week to force a vote on a “no fly, no buy” bill, which would bar terror suspects on the “no-fly” list from purchasing guns. The sit-in represented a sharp escalation in the fight, however, putting political pressure on Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) to allow a roll-call vote on the policy issue that’s gotten the most traction following the Florida shooting.

But by early afternoon, there were no signs that Republicans would acquiesce to the Democrats’ demands for a vote. Republicans believe that if they give in now, it would encourage more such actions by Democrats, and one GOP leadership aide called the move a “Democrat publicity stunt.”

But Democrats claim they will stay on the floor as long as it takes. They want Ryan to cancel the mid-July recess to take up their proposal.

“We have been too quiet for too long,” Lewis said. “There comes a time when you have to say something. You have to make a little noise. You have to move your feet. This is the time.

“How many more mothers? How many more fathers need to shed tears of grief before we do something?” Lewis continued, his voice rising in intensity. “Give us a vote. Let us vote. We came here to do our job. We came here to work.”

A short while later, Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) said the House “is drenched in blood and the only way we can cleanse it is if the speaker of the House allows us to vote on this legislation.

“Every day that we don’t commit to a vote, the blood is on the leadership of this House,” Nadler said.

But Rep. Mark Walker, a North Carolina Republican, slammed the sit-in, tweeting that “calling this a sit-in is a disgrace to Woolworth’s. They sat in for rights. Dems are “sitting in” to “strip them away.”