GOP lawmaker slammed for getting teen who wants gun control suspended

After 17-year-old Noah Christiansen called Rep. Mark Amodei (R-NV) to demand gun control, a staffer reported him to the principal of Robert McQueen High School in Reno, resulting in a two-day suspension and forfeiture of his position as class secretary-treasurer.

His crime? Telling Amodei that Congress should “get off their fucking asses,” which the office complained was “vulgar” and “disrespectful behavior.”

That’s pretty rich considering Amodei’s own crude record. He once told a Republican women’s conference that Trump will not bother talking to House Speaker Paul Ryan’s “lily white ass.”

And it’s certainly an extreme step for a congressman to take against a high school kid joining the call from thousands of students across the country to ask legislators to finally do something about gun violence.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada sent letters to Amodei’s office and the school principal and superintendent demanding an apology. The ACLU believes the excessive punishment is retaliation for “engaging in First Amendment protected activity” and that “Noah is well within his constitutional rights.”

The ACLU also asked Amodei to “rectify the situation you created and restore this young man’s school record by withdrawing your complaint with the school and apologizing to him.”

Amodei, who has an endorsement and “A” rating from the National Rifle Association, isn’t backing down though or apologizing for his absurd abuse of power.

“I’m not apologizing because my guy accurately described what happened in the phone call,” he said.

This incident is part of an ongoing patter of Republican officials cracking down on dissent from constituents.

Staffers for Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) locked constituent protestors out of her office during the tax debate and threatened to call the police on them for trespassing, even though they were there within regular business hours. And Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) sent letters to constituents warning that they would be reported to Capitol Police if they so much as called his office.

Some Republicans have even followed through. A Louisiana teacher was arrested at a school board meeting for asking Republican board members for a raise.

The GOP needs to tell us why a teenager using crude language is such a threat — let alone why it is more important than preventing mass shootings.