What three state legislators did last week in attempting to incite protesters from the House floor at the state capitol deserves punishment from the body but not expulsion.
During a floor recess from discussion of an education bill last Thursday, Reps. Justin Jones, D-Nashville, Gloria Johnson, D-Knoxville, and Justin Pearson, D-Memphis, went to the House podium with bullhorns and led a packed gallery in chants such as “Gun control now!” (following last week’s Christian school shooting that killed six in Nashville).
Reports said more protesters attempted to enter the chamber but were stopped and that state troopers had to help one legislator leave a bathroom because it had been blocked by protesters.
Eventually, Highway Patrol officers were called to help maintain order, but no arrests were made.
We don’t have a problem with legislators virulently opposing any bill being discussed or even joining protesters outside the walls of the Capitol to rally for certain actions, but decorum and a sense of respect for the position to which they’ve been elected should keep them from doing what they did last week.