Tennessee State House Representative G.A. Hardaway (D-Knoxville) objected to signs urging lawmakers to stand against child rapists during a meeting of the House Criminal Justice Committee held just days prior to Haradaway’s defense of Representative Justin Jones (D-Nashville), who refused to lead the legislative body in the Pledge of Allegiance.
The Tennessee Faith and Freedom Coalition told The Tennessee Star that activists affiliated with the group were present at the Tennessee General Assembly last Monday, holding signs urging lawmakers, “Do not stand with child rapists,” following a subcommittee vote by Representative Gloria Johnson (D-Knoxville) against HB 1663.
Filed by Representative William Lamberth (R-Portland), the proposed law would allow prosecutors to seek the death penalty for child rapists.
“For those who seem to think that you can’t have a sensible, rational debate on this issue without standing with rapists, it’s very offensive and it’s a lie,” said Hardaway (pictured above) on Wednesday.
After noting “systemic disparities in the justice system,” Hardaway again referenced the signs, and declared, “You may not agree with my rationalizing, the way that I’ve arrived at my decision on this, but right now, I’m going to have to vote no, and that’s in spite of those offensive signs that that you had the nerve to bring up in here.”
This week, certain Leftists in the House found this sign to be offensive but then completely fawned over one of their own denigrating the Pledge of Allegiance on the floor.
Being against child rape & FOR the Pledge/the American Flag is NOT offensive. It is just common sense. pic.twitter.com/j8SIzemHPl
— Tennessee Faith & Freedom Coalition (@TNFaithFreedom) February 2, 2024
Days later, Hardaway would rise to the defense of Jones in a press conference after he faced calls for his resignation for refusing to lead the Tennessee House in the Pledge of Allegiance on Thursday.
“Jones does not leave his constitutional rights at the door of the House Chambers,” Hardaway told the press, asserting that the lawmaker’s decision “doesn’t tell us what he does in his own private life, or where his heart is.”
Jones has refused calls for his resignation and now claims he did not want to recite the Pledge of Allegiance because of civil rights concerns. He characterized his detractors as insurrectionists.
The board of The Tennessee Faith and Freedom Coalition told The Star in a statement, “We’re not sure what Marxist bizarro world Hardaway lives in, but ‘Don’t Stand with Child Rapists’ is a basic humane position to hold, both morally and politically.”
“The sign wasn’t disgusting or offensive, what IS disgusting and offensive is when supposed public servants side with child rapists. He should be ashamed of himself for his comments about the sign and his vote. Where was his outrage when his Leftist brethren held signs containing profanity and describing sexual acts that maligned conservatives in committee and in the House gallery?”
Jones is a member of the controversial Tennessee Three who faced expulsion from their elected positions for their role in a pro-gun control riot in 2023. Jones was ultimately removed from office, but was quickly returned to his position.
Representative Gloria Johnson (D-Knoxville), another member of the Tennessee Three who survived the expulsion attempt, was the only member of the House Criminal Justice Subcommittee to vote against HB 1663 on January 23. The bill advanced last week despite Hardaway joining her with a vote against it.
The lawmaker highlighted concerns, purportedly relayed to her by rape victims and their advocates, that the death penalty would keep victims from reporting their abuser for fear of an eventual guilty verdict and death sentence.
Lamberth countered that the “chilling effect” would instead be felt by those considering abusing a child. He urged, “let this message go out far and wide: If you rape a child in the State of Tennessee, then you will die.”
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Georgia Star News, The Virginia Star, and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
