After last week’s vote by state House Republicans to expel Democrats Justin Pearson, Justin Jones, and Gloria Johnson over their gun-safety demonstration on the House floor, there were recriminations to be had.
In particular, GOP state Rep. Jody Barrett (R-Dickson) had to fend off his Republican colleagues for his ‘no’ vote to expel Gloria Johnson. That vote caused the expel resolution in her case to fail, and for the GOP members to be assailed for racism.
Besides Barrett, the GOP talkers are Jason Zachary, Knoxville, who begins by saying, “The Democrats are not our friends”; Johnny Garrett, Goodlettsville; Majority Leader William Lamberth, Portland; and Scott Cepicky, Culleoka. Cepicky is the one who believes the outcome of things is a threat to the existence of the Republic and who maintains, “You got to be what’s right, even if you think it’s wrong.”
Credit: Tennessee Holler/Twitter, Tennessee State Capitol/Facebook
The Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti condemned “political violence” in an official statement Thursday saying, “Tennessee has suffered through an awful season.”
That season includes the loss of three students and school officials in a deadly shooting at Nashville’s Covenant School, nine Fort Campbell soldiers killed in a recent helicopter crash near the state line, and more than a dozen Tennesseans killed in severe storms over the weekend.
While Skrmetti said many “have responded with our best,” he said “unfortunately, some have chosen a different path” and pointed to two recent developments.
Tennessee Attorney General John Skrmetti (credit TN.gov)
On Saturday, an unknown assailant shot bullets into the Williamson County home of Justin Kanew, founder of the Tennessee Holler, an online Tennessee news source. Kanew and his family, including his sleeping children, were inside the home at the time.
”This violence has no place in a civilized society and we are thankful no one was physically hurt,” Kanew tweeted Saturday. “The authorities have not completed their investigation and right now we do not know for sure the reason for this attack.”
Our family’s statement on something that happened to us this weekend. Love each other. pic.twitter.com/Ko1HMCas0C
”I don’t know him personally, though I know I often disagree with him,” Skrmetti said in a statement. “Regardless of any differences of opinion, though, as a dad and as an attorney general I cannot tolerate this attack against him and his family.”
The AG also said state lawmakers are receiving “graphic, anonymous death threats.” Skrmetti did not elaborate.
However, the alleged threats come as the Tennessee General Assembly is embattled in a tense stand-off on gun control in the wake of the Covenant shooting. Thousands of protestors have gathered in and on the ground of the Tennessee State Capitol to call for gun control in recent days.
Hundreds of protesters gathered again on Thursday in support of the “Tennessee Three,” Reps. Justin Pearson (D-Memphis), Gloria Johnson (D-Knoxville), and Justin Jones (D-Nashville), who face expulsion from the state House for leading a protest about gun control on the House floor last Thursday.
“No Tennessean should have to worry about their safety, or the safety of their family, because of the opinions they express,” Skrmetti said. “No lawmaker should face injury or death for serving as an elected representative of the people.
“Disagreement is a good thing. Democracy depends on disagreement. Each of us has a right, guaranteed by the Constitution, to express our opinions. There are limits on how we express those opinions, and those limits are governed by the legislature, by the courts, and ultimately by the people.”
