By Michael Brice-Saddler Michael Brice-Saddler General Assignment Reporter Email Bio Follow March 8 at 9:29 PM Debate on gun legislation reached a crescendo at the Arkansas State Capitol on Wednesday when a senator fervently denounced a bill that would make it easier to use lethal force in the name of self-defense.
On Wednesday, Sen. Stephanie Flowers spoke up when some members of the state’s Judiciary Committee tried to limit debate time on the issue — delivering an ardent monologue to explain why “stand your ground” laws are dangerous, particularly for people and communities of color. Addressing gun rights supporters in the room, Flowers said it was “crazy” to limit debate on such a sensitive issue. The senator again invoked her 27-year-old son, adding she was glad he no longer lives in Arkansas.
“You don’t have to worry about your children. . . . I have to worry about my son, and I worry about other little black boys and girls,” she said. “And people coming into my neighborhood, into my city, saying they have open-carry rights walking down in front of my doggone office in front of the courthouse. That’s a bully!”
Amen i really appreciate we really need someone who is not afraid to stand up for us me as a convicted felony i take my hat off to Mrs. Senator Flowers thank you very much..
SHE WHAT!! ~~~~~~ Ok
glenjesse1 We need more women like Rep. Flowers. Tough, fearless women.
Who was the dumbass GOP lawmaker who tried to silence her? The real national emergency involves Americans killing Americans.
He shouldn't try to do that.
Arkansas is the FORTH most dangerous state in the US Maybe Flowers should fix that instead of attacking non-criminals. Her rant is detached from reality.
acting irrationally crime rate in her district is MUCH higher than the national violent crime rate stand your ground isn't the real problem that she doesn't recognize the reality of the situation only serves only to keep her district among the most homicidal in the nation
bolero2010 dude turned pink as fuck and its not even wednesday
FL_lewoo Good over evil in Arkansas!
Good to see Senator Flowers put Sen. Clark back in his box.
shannonrwatts AlanClark4AR appears to be a poster boy for democracy ... only when it benefits gun-loving white Republican men.
shannonrwatts God bless her
Sen. Flowers is Amazing. She holds her ground and speaks the truth. 🌻
Why is WP contributing to racial division? Just another example of the left wing media trying to further divide the country to further their own agenda.
GOP is the 60's party that's where they're stuck.
Good for her!
😮😮😮
More lies. It's the democrats who sensor and deny free speech to everyone else.
Why did you have to put race into it? Seems the leftist liberals are more color consious then anyone and try to make it the other way around
I love this lady!
She was great.
Screaming isn't winning
FakeNewsMedia once again distorts facts.
And the American people keep losing because of the Crooked Democrats
I’m glad she did not back down in what she believes in
Hmm... I am beginning to think that the Washington Post gets a lot of its stories from Twitter.
Won what? How does creating more gun laws help deter crime? Perhaps she should focus on enforcement of current laws.
Senator Flower is acting stringently inadequate, her emotions clouded her judgment which is a very unfavorable character of being a senator.
Great. Civility and Robert's Rules of Order right out the window.
Would it have been the same story without specifying 'black'? YOU cause division!
This is clickbait. He didn’t try to silence anybody. He was , rightly so, bringing order to the discussion on the floor. The lady was clearly out of order and acting like a child. Wrong place , wrong time. Being civil isn’t hard folks.
Why has the WP all of a sudden stopped covering Ocasio Cortez?
Oh plz what a bullshit lie!!!!
By 'won' you mean a gun restriction that saved lives passed?
“Won” seems pretty subjective here. But sure you guys aren’t fake news 😂 yeah ok...
Thank You Washington Post!
On moral grounds she wins but on self security grounds she lost
She has a large mouth problem, he was being a gentleman.
Shots fired
Loud, offended, speaking for the entire race, and you wonder why ppl like this are glossed over in real debate.
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
We need more voices like hers. She speaks for so many. She had me crying.
These damn gun laws don't protect anyone.. They are used as legal murder laws.. Chickenshit Republicans get to murder who they want in 'self defense' Standup4Trayvon
👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
What the hell does race have to do with this? Wapo is suggesting that its surprising a black woman can win a debate. Shameful
Blacks have only themselves to blame for violence. Enough of this false victimhood narrative.
Misleading headline suggests he argued with her because she’s black. Way to continue the race wars ! 👎👎👎
Is this another 'stand your ground' bill drafted by ALEC TheArtist_MBS?
He tried but then allowed her to continue and finish.
The truth will never be silenced!
Actually, 2A will always win. She can blather all she wants.
SHE MADE AN UTTER FOOL OF HERSELF!!!
More like her, please.
What exactly does skin color have to do with it? This is just more divisive bs from the WaPo. Shame. On. You.
Is WaPo trying to foment hate?
What does it have to do with her being black other than the obvious liberals are obsessed with race part?
Wow! We need more senators like her maybe our government would be better.
More importantly....
AlwYs with the identity politics
But she is crazy
Senator Flowers you are my hero.
No, she was rude and out of order.
I wouldn’t have looked at it that way. I think he just didn’t want the discussion going that direction
Well I hope the bill gets shot down again on Monday. Good for you Sen. Flower. As a minority, I too was advised not to drive through Arkansas hills at night. There are blood thirsty human wolves out there. It's wild out there.
Are you getting your headlines ideas from TMZ?
GOP: party of racists
Wp what have the color of her skin got to do with it. Enemy of the people
More MediaBias. Watch the video. This is a hearing w an allotted time & the Senator completely ignores the Senate rules & protocol. The GOP lawmaker was mild mannered. But the media needs to make this about race i.e a white person trying to suppress a black person.
Why do you identify her as a “black” senator?
Annnnnnd headlines like this is exactly y no one trust the media...
Hope she wasn't smirking..
What does her being black have anything to do with the article? It’s like liberals can’t see the human behind the color of their skin. It easily could of been a black conservative and a white liberal, but then you’d have nothing to write about would you?
Why isn't this all over the national news? Why hasn't Senator Flowers been asked to speak on msnbc or cnn? And there are so many other similar things happening in every state across the nation. We aren't just DC. The national news should be carrying news from across the nation.
Her being black had what to do with anything? You fourth estate libs again prove Trump correct; you are the enemy of Americans.