Political Quotes

“I thank the gentlewoman from Florida and the gentleman from Illinois for leading this Special Order hour, which is a great responsibility given to them by the chairman of this body. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to address the recent expulsion of two elected members of the Tennessee Legislature and the threat this action poses for American democracy. On April 6, two Black elected officials, Justin Jones and Justin Pearson, as we all know, were expelled from the Tennessee State Legislature. They were involved in peaceful protests to demand legislators pass stricter gun laws in the State. Why they were engaged in that peaceful protest is because their colleagues had tried to silence them so many times during normal debate, in committee, and on the floor of the Tennessee Legislature that they finally had to take these actions in order to be heard. They were expelled because of that protest. Mr. Speaker, I am proud of those young men. They stood up for what they felt was right, and they took their opportunity, as elected officials of that body, to be heard. If it took rebellion to be heard, a megaphone to be heard on the floor, then that is what they had to do. I was honored to be part of something similar that the Congressional Black Caucus led on this floor not too many years ago. I see my colleague Joyce Beatty and my colleague Yvette Clarke here. They were both part of that rebellion. We sat down on the House floor, which is against the rules.…”