Dupage Policy Journal

Hinsdale resident James Sobieraj turned the tables on federal Democrats who showed support for Tennessee Democrats who were expelled from the state House floor asking if those same Democrats would support a similar stunt by the GOP. 

In early April State Reps. Gloria Johnson (D-Knoxville), Justin Jones (D-Nashville) and Justin Pearson (D-Memphis) protested on the State House floor seeking gun control.

“If a Republican lawmaker had used a bullhorn on the House floor last year to rile up protesters in the House gallery and prevent Speaker Nancy Pelosi from conducting proceedings (“Who’s Undemocratic in Tennessee?” Review & Outlook, April 8), would Mrs. Pelosi and President Biden have praised the Republican representative for conducting a peaceful protest and furthering democratic principles?” Sobieraj said, according to Wall Street Journal. 

The three led protestors in the gallery, chanting: “Gun control now!” and “No action, no peace!” 

The protests – in a place where the representatives are expected to engage in civil debate – riled the state’s controlling GOP members. The three were accused of breaching rules of decorum in engaging in the act of protest. Jones and Pearson were expelled by the State House for the protest. 

“Democrats are making secular saints out of two state lawmakers expelled by the House,” the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board said. 

The Editorial Board slammed national Democrats for supporting the disruption. 

“National Democrats and media are rushing to associate themselves with this mess, perhaps because they think they can spin it to fit their narrative that Republicans are a mortal threat to democracy,” the WSJ said.

President Joe Biden noted the expulsions in a press release from the White House. 

“Today’s expulsion of lawmakers who engaged in peaceful protest is shocking, undemocratic, and without precedent. Rather than debating the merits of the issue, these Republican lawmakers have chosen to punish, silence, and expel duly-elected representatives of the people of Tennessee,” Biden's press release reads.

The protests came after a trans person killed six, including three students, at a Nashville Christian elementary school. The shooter in that incident was a 28-year-old disaffected former student who was killed by police officers, according to Mount Vernon News.

Pearson called the move an act of “racism,” a go-to claim of the activist left. He was later reappointed to his seat.