Two Democratic woman lawmakers in Michigan, Rep. Lisa Brown (West Bloomfield) and Rep. Barb Byrum (Onondaga), were banned from speaking on the House floor Thursday, they were not told why they the ban was put in place, but it is believed it stems from their opposition to radical anti-choice legislation that passed the house the day before.
Majority Floor Leader Jim Stamas (R-Midland) gaveled Rep. Lisa Brown out of order on Wednesday afternoon after she told her colleagues, “I’m flattered you’re all so concerned about my vagina, but no means no.”
“I’d love to know what I said that was offensive,” Brown said. “It was an anti-choice bill regarding abortion, which obviously involves a vagina, so, you know, I don’t know what word I’m supposed to use otherwise.”
Rep. Barb Byrum caused a stir when she marched through the House gallery Wednesday protesting that she hadn’t been allowed to speak on the house floor.
Ari Adler, a spokesman for House Majority Leader Jase Bolger (R-Marshall), said the lawmakers were banned from speaking because of their behavior, not because of their word choice. “They behaved in a way that disrupted the decorum of the House,” Adler said. “For Brown, it was not the words she used, but the way she used them that resulted in her being gaveled down.” In Byrum’s case, Adler said, “I hate to put it this way, but she essentially had a temper tantrum on the House floor.”
Adler said the Republican floor leader told the Democratic floor leader the two representatives would not be recognized on Thursday. It’s “not [the GOP’s] concern” if the lawmakers weren’t given the message, he said. It’s unfortunate, he added, that the two lawmakers were sanctioned for what occurred during debate on an anti-abortion bill, because it makes it look as if they were silenced for reasons other than their “lack of decorum.”
“The reality is, we have two representatives not being recognized today because of their actions yesterday,” Adler said. “It has nothing to do with their gender or religion or the topics they were speaking about.”
Byrum said that she believes her gender did have something to do with it, and that the silencing is unfair and unwarranted.
“There have been physical altercations between at least two men on the House floor, and I don’t recall any of them every being banned from speaking,” Bynum said. “It’s just unacceptable to silence women when we’re talking about women’s reproductive rights.”
Rep. Lisa Brown (West Bloomfield) and Rep. Barb Byrum (Onondaga) held a press conference after being silenced by House Republicans
