MONTGOMERY — State Rep. Mary Moore (D-Birmingham) took a moment of personal privilege Tuesday to lambast Speaker Pro-Tem Chris Pringle (R-Mobile) for comments he made about State Rep. Juandalynn Givan (D-Birmingham) and her behavior on the House floor.
Last week, 1819 News reported on comments Givan made from the floor in which she alluded to the only black GOP lawmaker in Alabama as an "N-word."
In the ensuing chaos, the Alabama GOP demanded a public apology, and the Montgomery County GOP called for her censuring.
Givan has been resolutely “unapologetic” in the aftermath, saying the calls to apologize were “merely another alt-right Republican distraction.”
On Tuesday, during an interview with Mobile radio's FM Talk 106.5, Pringle said that Givan had in the past been “physically removed” from the House floor and committee meetings.
He also made sardonic comments about her “medication” not functioning correctly, also saying that House members tend to ignore her ranting from the floor.
On Tuesday’s convening of the House, Moore was granted a point of personal privilege. She took the chance to address Pringle’s comments, accusing him of lying and making inappropriate comments about Givan’s appearance.
“In this body, we come to this microphone, and we say a lot of things,” Moore said. “But, when one member of the body goes to the media to demean another member of the body, I think that’s a step too far. To even lie on that person to say that that person was physically dragged off the floor at one point in time by security and out of the committee, which is an absolute lie. And then for that same person to say that they sat next to a person for eight years, and some days that person don’t appear to be on her medication. But the representative that made the statement ain’t a doctor. He hadn’t diagnosed anybody with anything.”
She continued, “To get to the end of the article and talk about the person’s makeup, I think that’s a bit much. You know, we say a lot, but I ain't never went anywhere to demean a person that’s in this body because most times our differences is probably with the bill and the way that we would approach that bill. But to come out and demean one of our colleagues the way that this person did, I think, is beyond the call of duty and deserving of some kind of attention.”
“To go to the media and then to get down to the fine-tuning, talking about the length of the person’s eyelashes; that’s a bit much, y’all.”
Givan held a press conference on Tuesday, remaining unapologetic and, once again, rejecting calls for her to apologize.
To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email craig.monger@1819news.com.
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