A Colorado representative from Weld County claimed blacks and white Republicans were lynched in “nearly equal” numbers following Reconstruction and chastised the main sponsors of a resolution honoring Martin Luther King Jr. Day during a speech on the House floor Friday.

“We have come a long way on that arc since the Reconstruction, since whites and blacks alike were in nearly equal numbers lynched for the crime of being Republican,” Rep. Lori Saine, R-Firestone, said.

She then went on to allege that a fellow lawmaker was told her skin color was the reason she couldn’t introduce a resolution honoring King.

“My colleagues, how can you redeem your marginalized voice by marginalizing ours? Our march towards justice is not over when a colleague is barred from introducing a resolution on this floor because of the color of her skin,” Saine said. “Our march of justice is not over when a member of this body who represents all races, creeds and religions is told that Martin Luther King does not represent her heritage.”

Saine couldn’t immediately be reached for comment Monday afternoon, but she posted the speech to her Facebook page and wrote that she was defending state Rep. Perry Buck, R-Windsor. Buck also could not be reached for comment.

Saine, Buck and dozens of other House members sponsored House Joint Resolution 19-1006, which commemorated King’s birthday. It was introduced in the House by Reps. Jovan Melton, D-Aurora, and Leslie Herod, D-Denver.

Herod told The Denver Post that the reason she and Melton introduced the resolution this year is because they were also honoring former state Rep. Wilma Webb, who championed the bill that made MLK Day a Colorado holiday. Herod now represents Webb’s district and Melton is close friend.

“There was no keeping anyone off this resolution,” Herod said.

She went on to characterize Buck’s brief floor speech on the resolution as both eloquent and in keeping with the spirit of MLK, but Herod said Saine’s remarks were “completely off base.”

“I don’t know where she got her misleading and not factual information,” Herrod said.

According to the NAACP’s history of lynchings, nearly 73 percent of the 4,800 people lynched from 1882 until 1968 were black. It’s possible that some were also Republicans, but they were lynched because of the color of their skin and not their political party, Herod said.

The NAACP notes that many of the lynchings of white people took place in the West following accusations of or convictions for murder and cattle theft.