Oregon GOP Sen. Dallas Heard expelled from Senate floor for being unmasked

Sen. Dallas Heard, R-Roseburg, chair of the Oregon Republican Party, was escorted off the Senate floor near the end of Monday's special legislative session after appearing at his desk unmasked and refusing to put on a mask or leave when asked to do so.

Oregon's indoor mask mandate and Senate rules require anyone in the Senate chamber to wear a mask. Every other senator, staff member and journalist in attendance wore a mask in the chamber throughout the day.

Heard attended earlier floor sessions Monday while seated in the upper gallery area away from anyone else.

But as the sine die resolution (which allows for adjournment of the session) was brought up for a vote, he walked onto the chamber floor.

Senate President Peter Courtney, D-Salem, spotted the maskless Heard.

"You know you don't have a mask on, you're supposed to have a mask on, so why don't you get up and tell us what you want and then I'm going to ask you to leave the floor, please, Sen. Heard," Courtney said.

"Simply put, I am just exercising the rights of the free people of Oregon," Heard responded.

Courtney asked Heard to either put on a mask (to which Heard replied he did not have one) or leave the Senate chamber.

"This is something that makes me sad, very sad, Dallas," Courtney said. He said he doesn't like expelling lawmakers from the floor, but it is an option.

Heard justified his decision by noting Gov. Kate Brown attended a gala in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 4 where she took photos with other attendees while not wearing a mask. There is not an indoor mask mandate in D.C., though many accused her of hypocrisy.

Courtney asked again for Heard to put on a mask or leave the floor.

"The people of Senate District 1 elected me to represent them on this floor at this desk, so, no, I will not leave," Heard said.

Courtney continued with the sine die vote, which passed unanimously.

After the vote, Courtney formally expelled him from the floor, finding him in violation of Senate rules and Oregon statute.

Courtney asked the Sergeant at Arms to escort Heard out of the chamber. She and the Secretary of the Senate approached Heard at his desk, and after a short conversation, led him out of the chamber.

The session ended moments later.

Reporter Connor Radnovich covers the Oregon Legislature and state government. Contact him at cradnovich@statesmanjournal.com or 503-399-6864, or follow him on Twitter at @CDRadnovich.

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This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Sen. Dallas Heard expelled from Senate floor for being unmasked