NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Vice President Kamala Harris spoke after Tennessee's special session, where the state House voted to silence Rep. Justin Jones (D - Nashville).
Jones was ruled out of order twice on Monday, during the session. The second time, he was discussing HB 7023, which allows law enforcement agencies to assign officers to serve as school resource officers at a school.
He was discussing statistics surrounding the impact of school resource officers on minority students and students with disabilities, and said he wanted more pay for teachers instead. Speaker Cameron Sexton (R - Crossville) ruled that he was out of order, and the House voted to bar him from being recognized during debate or remarks for the rest of the day.
Harris' statement about the decision is available below.
"We need leaders with the courage to act. We need leaders who will stand up and fight for commonsense gun safety laws and for our democracy.
The Tennessee State House's action — to silence Rep. Justin Jones for asking questions — is undemocratic and dangerous. We stand with you, Representative Jones."
She also released a picture on social media showing her talking with all members of the Tennessee Three in an office. Those members are Jones, Rep. Gloria Johnson (D - Knoxville) and Rep. Justin Pearson (D - Memphis).
The punishments for Tennessee House Representatives increase each time they're ruled out of order and the House votes to silence them. After the fourth time they are silenced, they can't be recognized for the rest of the session.