I’ve complained before and undoubtedly will again about Republican disrespect for the 1st Amendment. The 2nd? That’s another matter.

You know what I mean. Expressing opposition to Republican viewpoints is “injecting needless controversy.” Shut up, they said.

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It happened again in the Pennsylvania legislature this week. A gay lawmaker wanted to speak on the floor about the U.S. Supreme Court rulings on same-sex marriage. Talking Points Memo reports:

Rep. Brian Sims, D-Philadelphia, asked the chamber to reprimand Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, R-Butler, at the close of session because of an interview Metcalfe gave to explain why he exercised his right to prevent him from speaking on the topic during session.

“His comments did not live up to the standards set by this body,” Sims said on the floor.

Metcalfe told WHYY-FM that Sims’ comments would have been “open rebellion against God’s law.” He told The Associated Press late Thursday he stood by those remarks.

“For me to allow him to say things that I believe are open rebellion against God are for me to participate in his open rebellion,” Metcalfe told the AP. “There’s no free speech on the floor.”

In my experience, this fellow is not an outlier.

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