Tennessee mother and gun safety advocate Allison Polidor went viral after she and several other activists were forcibly removed from a Tennessee House subcommittee meeting for quietly holding signs advocating for gun reform.
The incident occurred just one day after the Tennessee House implemented a ban on visitors displaying signs of any kind during committee meetings. At the time Polidor was ejected, the House was in the middle of a special legislative session called by Tennessee Governor Bill Lee to discuss the state's gun laws in response to a mass shooting that occurred in March.
Republican House members had established new disciplinary rules for the special session, including a ban on the public carrying signs in House galleries and committee meetings.
However, less than 24 hours later, three individuals at the Civil Justice subcommittee hearing were seen holding homemade signs with the message "1 KID > ALL THE GUNS." These individuals were removed by the Tennessee Highway Patrol at the request of Republican legislative members.
A video of these moments was shared by Shannon Watts, the founder of Moms Demand Action, with the following caption responding to Polidor's removal:
"Tennessee House subcommittee members had state troopers physically remove gun safety activists who quietly held signs from a hearing. We bow down to this woman who - visibly shaking - said: 'You will have to drag me out.' Moms will win."
You can watch what happened in the video below.
Polidor told state troopers that it is her First Amendment right to protest and said they would have to "drag me out" to stop her from holding her sign.
As they escorted her out, she yelled:
"This is not what democracy looks like!"
Shortly after these incidents, House Civil Justice Committee Chairman Lowell Russell requested that state troopers clear the hearing room of all members of the public. This request was made after applause followed a bill action.
In response to the incident, Russell issued a statement indicating that the public had been asked multiple times to avoid disrupting the committee hearing before the meeting was ultimately closed:
"After requests for those in attendance to not disrupt the committee failed, I had the audience view the committee from the hallway. People were allowed to re-enter the committee room to testify during the committee meeting. It's unfortunate a simple request to keep the [noise] down was repeatedly ignored."
However, there is no evidence to suggest Polidor or her fellow activists actually disrupted the legislative session.
Many criticized Tennessee House Republicans and praised the activists.
The special legislative session was called so lawmakers could assess the state's gun laws after March's shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville, where a 28-year-old woman armed with two assault-style rifles and a pistol killed six people, including three children.
Republicans have been largely against reforming gun laws, with one lawmaker even going viral shortly after the shooting took place for making remarks that were immediately called out for their insensitivity.
The lawmaker, Tim Burchett, said there is no way to "fix" school shootings and touted homeschooling when asked how people like his young daughter could be protected.
Notably, Burchett voted against a bill to expand background checks on gun sales in 2022.
