Harris backs expelled lawmakers against ‘attack on democracy’

Vice President Kamala Harris defended two Tennessee Democratic legislators who were expelled — and quickly reinstated — after leading a rowdy pro-gun control protest with bullhorns on the floor of the state House of Representatives last month.

Harris told the National Action Network’s annual convention in Harlem Friday that a “bullhorn becomes necessary” when “extremists” won’t listen.

Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton, a Republican, accused the Democrats of “doing an insurrection in the Capitol” and led his caucus in expelling them for the disruption, invoking terminology used by critics of former President Donald Trump to describe the violent riot by his supporters that disrupted certification of the 2020 election.

“The voices of students, parents, teachers and preachers will not be silenced,” the veep said. “And these voices must be heard. These voices must be heard, they will not be discouraged or deterred — even if using a bullhorn becomes necessary!”

Harris visited Nashville, Tenn., last week after Republicans voted to expel state Reps. Justin Jones, 28, and Justin Pearson, 27, who were rapidly reinstated by their local governments. A third legislator, Democratic Rep. Gloria Johnson, narrowly avoided expulsion.

There were no arrests or deaths linked to the March 30 Nashville protest, but video posted online by journalists showed scuffles with police as thousands of protesters surrounded the building and disrupted proceedings.

The vice president, who last year likened the Jan. 6, 2021, rampage at the US Capitol to the 9/11 terror attacks and the Japanese bombing of Peal Harbor, said Republican legislators were “extremists” for not embracing gun control measures, making it necessary for the Democrats to use sound amplification.

The expulsion of the pair was “an attack on democracy itself,” Harris said.

“The people we elect, the people who reflect our values and represent our voices, well, they too must be heard. That, too, is what democracy is about,” she said. “However, that too has come under attack. And that was what Nashville was all about — an attempt to silence the voices of the people.

“Now can you imagine, the voice of the people was too much for these extremists to handle. It was just too much, they couldn’t bear it. But you see, the Tennessee Three clearly were not deterred,” Harris went on.

“But those extremists couldn’t handle it — so much so that they turned off the microphones. But the Tennessee Three said, ‘All right, let’s pull out that bullhorn because we will be heard.’ And they channeled the cries and the pleas and the demands of the people and required that those voices be heard.”

The pro-gun control protest in Nashville occurred three days after the March 27 mass shooting at the nearby Covenant School. The shooter, 28-year-old Audrey Hale, was a former student who identified as transgender. Three adults and three 9-year-old children were murdered before Hale was fatally shot by police. A manifesto believed to explain the motive has not yet been released.

Although Republicans generally are more supportive than Democrats of gun rights, Tennessee Republican Gov. Bill Lee signed an executive order Tuesday to make background checks more comprehensive by requiring that a state agency receive reports of new criminal activity within 72 hours.

Lee also is urging the state legislature to pass a “red flag” law that would allow police to temporarily confiscate the guns of people believed to present a public-safety risk. Nearly half of states have red-flag laws, including heavily Democratic New York and Republican-led Florida.