Banned GA State Senator Allowed Back in Chambers

Last week, Georgia State Senator Colton Moore made national headlines when he was drug out of chambers during a State of the State Speech by Governor Brian Kemp.

Moore had been banned from chambers for comments he made about a deceased former member of the House who was being honored.

The ban has since been lifted, and Moore is now permitted to enter chambers again.

The Right Thing

Moore had been banned for making derogatory comments about the late House Speaker David Ralston.

While being honored, Moore called out Ralston for his corruption, which some members of the state legislature took exception to.

At the time, he stated, “This body is about to memorialize, in my opinion, one of the most corrupt Georgia leaders that we are ever going to see in my lifetime.”

In Moore’s defense, I checked into Ralston’s record, and he was clearly doing some shady business to help his clients in his private law practice.

While there were some members of the legislature who agreed with him, the current House Speaker, Jon Burns, did not agree with him, and Moore was banned from the chambers.

So, when Governor Kemp gave his address to a joint session and Moore tried to enter, he was pushed to the ground, cuffed, and led out of chambers.

Moore spoke to reporters after the fact, stating, "How can an attorney of the speaker of the House do some wrestling move, throw the senator to the ground and the senator gets arrested with 18 state troopers standing there?

"Yesterday, in my opinion, was the greatest constitutional debacle that we’ve ever seen in the history of our state."

Burns explained lifting the ban, stating, “The Ralston family has expressed to their family here in the House that they desire for our Chamber to resume business as normal—with all members of the General Assembly present—for any future joint sessions with or without the apology they and the House deserve.”

The alleged scheme that Ralston was running was delaying trials for his clients, citing that he was a state legislator and the House schedule conflicted with his trial schedule.

Because he was both a practicing attorney and a state legislator, local rules stated that legislative business takes precedence.

Ralston had requested hundreds of delays on behalf of his clients for this reason, which often resulted in evidence expiring of the case becoming an afterthought. According to the report, many of his clients sought him out for this reason.

So, there is clearly something to what Moore alleged, so I am with him on this one. But as we all know, all corrupt politicians stick together.