Special Session Day 2: GOP Chairman Clears Public for Clapping, Blasted As “Embarrassing”
“Are we going to quieten down and listen or are we going to sit there and clap?”
Applause angered a House sub-committee chairman Tuesday enough that he cleared the room of all members of the
public — including mothers of Covenant School students — in a move one leading lawmaker called “petty” and
“embarrassing.”
The meeting was one of the first to review legislation in Gov. Bill Lee’s special session on public safety that began
Monday. The room was packed for the House Civil Justice Subcommittee hearing, with some in the audience holding
protest signs and many wearing red shirts for the group Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense In America.
Before the meeting began, subcommittee chairman Rep. Lowell Russell (R-Vonore), a retired state trooper, issued a
warning to those in the audience holding signs. Signs were banned during the special session under rules approved
by the House Republican supermajority Monday, even a standard letter-sized piece of paper with a statement written
with a standard pen.
“I’m still seeing signs,” Russell said before the meeting began. “If there’s an ongoing problem with these signs, we’ll
just clear the room.”
Russell then singled out a member of the audience who, presumably, did not drop her sign. She was escorted — with
hands on her body — by a Tennessee State Trooper who guided her past the front row, in front of the committee (to
which she yelled something unintelligible on the stream of the meeting), and was taken from the room.
A second young, female protestor was similarly sectored by troopers while she held her sign over her head.
With the removal done, Rep. Antonio Parkinson (D-Memphis) — the only Democrat on the panel — thanked “the moms in the rooms fighting for the lives of our children.” The statement was met with applause.
Parkinson drew applause again later when he asked GOP lawmakers to at least hear ideas from Democrats after many of their bills died before even being reviewed. That applause frustrated Russell who stammered that “we’re trying to do business here…”
When Parkinson said, “it won’t kill us to hear” ideas of Democrats, he drew applause again but Russell seemed to just
carry on. However, he didn’t let it go. It chided him enough to issue his warning again a few minutes later.
“Listen, please,” Russell began. “We’re going to conduct the state’s business or we’re going to clear the room, O.K.?
That’s your last warning.”
Later in the hearing, Rep. Jody Barrett (R-Dickson) presented a bill that would have allowed those with an enhanced
handgun carry permit to carry a handgun on school property. However, he said the bill was not yet ready for votes
and asked for it to be removed from the calendar. This was met with yet another round of applause. Russell was done.
“Now, are we going to quieten down and listen or are we going to sit there and clap?” Russell asked the audience
members. But he immediately made up his mind. “All right, troopers, let’s go ahead and clear the room.”
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