(NewsNation) — Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives Cameron Sexton stood by the chamber’s expulsion of Democratic lawmakers for their role in a protest calling for more gun control, saying Friday, “They chose to do that.”

“It’s something that’s never happened,” Sexton said during an appearance on NewsNation’s “On Balance.” “They led a protest on the House floor and shut us down. It was their choice to do it. They made the decision. The Democratic caucus didn’t say, ‘You three go do it.’ The Republican caucus didn’t say, ‘You three go do it.’ They chose to do that.”

Republicans voted Thursday to expel two Black lawmakers who approached the front of the House chamber with a bullhorn and participated in a chant after joining protesters calling for passage of gun-control measures.

Sexton said censorship would have been “too light” of a punishment.

“The level I thought it should get to is expulsion,” he said. “Censorship is too light. It’s a piece of paper. It means absolutely nothing. They have been disruptive in committees on the House floor for the whole time this year.”

Sexton also said he is concerned about the rules of decorum being followed.

“What I worry about is following the House rules that we all voted on, that we approved to make sure that we all operate under the same rules, the same level of decorum and the same respect for the institution,” he said. “They decided that they don’t want to live by the rules, they decided they didn’t respect the institution, they decided that they were going to commandeer and lead a protest.”

Sexton continued, “I don’t care if you’re Republican or Democrat, an independent, a Green Party, a libertarian. At the end of the day, if you do that on our house floor in Tennessee, you should be expelled.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.