NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Tennessee Rep. Bruce Griffey’s hearing is iffy and getting worse with age.
Seated in the back of the echo-prone House, the 57-year-old Republican said he struggles to hear proceedings when protests get loud outside the chamber. He said he’s had particular trouble hearing over a protester out there who loudly calls for removal of the Capitol’s bust of a former Confederate general and early Ku Klux Klan leader.
Griffey, who has often found the spotlight through tough-on-immigration bills that have failed, is now contending that protesters who are too loud should be subject to arrest if they refuse to quiet down or go outside. He went to the attorney general to get his opinion about arrest authority in the scenario and emailed legislative leaders about it earlier this month.
Legislative leaders, in statements through spokespeople, showed little appetite for diving into a thorny First Amendment fight.
“If I’m in there and it’s not bothering me, I’m not going to complain,” said Griffey, who added that he got mixed results trying a radio hearing aid. “But if it’s interfering with being able to hear what’s being said on the House floor, if I complain I’m going to ask them to ask the guy to please step outside and protest out there at that level, or tone it down. If you refuse, you’re subject to being arrested and charged with disturbing the peace. It doesn’t matter who it is.”