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California senator removed from floor after criticizing late lawmaker Tom Hayden
The California Senate was thrown into chaos and anger on Thursday when a Republican member was forcibly removed from the floor for allegedly speaking out of turn during a session.Republican colleagues say Sen. Janet Nguyen, R-Garden Grove, was silenced by the Democratic majority when the Senate sergeant-at-arms escorted her from the chamber as Nguyen tried to criticize the late Democratic lawmaker Tom Hayden for his stance against the Vietnam War. "I’m enraged at the violation to free speech, our Constitution and the precedent this sets," said Senate Republican Leader Jean Fuller, who asked the Senate Rules Committee to look into what happened and make sure there is no "retribution" against Nguyen for the incident. Nguyen, a Vietnamese refugee who represents a large Vietnamese community in Orange County, said she was shaken up and "quite upset" at being removed. Two days after the Senate memorialized Hayden, who traveled to North Vietnam with then-wife Jane Fonda in 1974, Nguyen said she wanted to offer "another historical perspective." "He sided with the communist government that enslaved and killed millions of Vietnamese, including my family," Nguyen said. Without U.S. support for South Vietnam, "I wouldn’t be here today. I would be dead." At an unrelated press conference later, Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León said he was "greatly unsettled (by) what took place on the floor." De León, a Los Angeles Democrat, agreed to the Rules Committee review and said he would talk to Nguyen and Fuller. But he added that the situation "could have easily been dealt with" if they had followed parliamentary procedure. Nguyen attempted to make her comments during the adjourn-in-memory portion of the Senate floor session, when members typically offer tributes to constituents who have recently died. After first delivering her comments in Vietnamese, Nguyen was quickly cut off as she tried to repeat them in English. "Members, today I recognize in memory the millions of Vietnamese and hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese refugees who died in seeking for freedom and democracy," she said. "On Tuesday, you had an opportunity to honor Sen. Tom Hayden. With all due respect, I would like to offer this historical perspective ..." Presiding Sen. Ricardo Lara, D-Bell Gardens, interrupted Nguyen and gave the floor to Sen. Bill Monning, D-Carmel, who said Nguyen was out of order because she did not raise her objections during the Hayden tribute ceremony two days before. Nguyen continued to speak for several minutes, even as Lara repeatedly asked her to take a seat and then eventually ordered the sergeants to remove her. "Sergeants, please remove Sen. Nguyen from the chamber," Lara said. "Have her removed immediately. Sergeants, please remove Sen. Nguyen, she is out of order." Continues Posted by: Vast Right Wing Conspiracy 2017-02-25 |
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