Vice President Kamala Harris delivered a speech Friday that highlighted the meaning of democracy as she defended the actions of the “Tennessee Three,” Democratic lawmakers who face expulsion from the state’s GOP-controlled state for participating in protests against gun violence.
Harris’ speech at Nashville’s Fisk University followed a vote in the state House on Thursday that expelled two black state representatives, Justin Jones and Justin Pearson, as protesters led chants on the House floor. But a third Democrat, state Republican Gloria Johnson, who is white and who also participated in the protest, held onto the seat by one vote.
Harris said there that the state House acted “not about three” Democrats. “It’s about whose voice is channeled. Know that.”
“And isn’t that what democracy allows? Democracy says, ‘You don’t silence the people. You don’t stifle people. You don’t turn off the microphone when they’re talking about the importance of life and liberty.'”
Watch parts of Harris’ speech below: