Tennessee State Rep. Justin Pearson (D) said Tuesday on MSNBC’s “Deadline” that Republicans in his state House are attempting to turn democracy into “mob rules.”
Pearson was one of the two Democrats expelled from the Tennessee legislature in April for participating in a gun control protest.
Pearson said, “Our democracy is in peril. The reality is we have people in the state of Tennessee, a Republican Party, who are much more interested in turning our democracy into their mob-ocracy or mob rules. We are seeing that quite literally in the rules being passed, which have now prohibited our own constituents from coming into session and holding a sign that says ‘Protect Kids, Not Guns’ or that says ‘Am I Next?’ That has now been banned during this special session.”
He added, “In fact, pieces of paper have more regulation than guns in our state. We are seeing in state legislature after state legislature the erosion of our democracy. So I’m deeply concerned about what is happening here in Tennessee under the leadership of this extremist Republican Party.”
Pearson concluded, “The National Rifle Association, the Tennessee Firearms Association, the American Firearms Association have a hold on our state capital and our state leaders that are preventing them from doing what is in the best interests of our children.”
Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN
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