Two Black Tennessee Lawmakers Protested Gun Violence. Now The GOP Is Trying To Expel Them
AFTER STATE REPS. JUSTIN JONES, JUSTIN PEARSON, AND GLORIA JOHNSON SUPPORTED GUN SAFETY ADVOCATES AFTER LAST WEEK’S MASS SHOOTING IN TENNESSEE, GOP COLLEAGUES ARE CALLING FOR THEIR EXPULSION.
In a rare but not too out of character move, Republican members of the Tennessee legislature initiated the process to try and “expel three Democratic members from the GOP-dominant House for their role in a recent gun control protest at the state Capitol.” Only two other state House members have “ever been ousted from the chamber since the Civil War,” the Associated Press reports.
Following last week’s tragic school shooting in Nashville, TN, protestors headed over to the Capitol calling for their legislators to pass gun control measures, and State Reps. Gloria Johnson, Justin Pearson, and Justin Jones joined in on the House floor with a bullhorn, cheering on the crowd. Both Pearson and Jones are Black men, freshman lawmakers, and “[a]ll three have been highly critical of the Republican supermajority,” according to PBS.
Now, Johnson, Pearson, and Jones are facing expulsion from their positions, and this is “came after House Speaker stripped all three of their committee and subcommittee seats…[and t]he lawmakers also had their badges and garage passes deactivated,” a local NBC news outlet reports.
“Our mics were cut off throughout the week whenever we were trying to bring up the issue of gun violence…I went outside to support, the speaker cut off my voting machine. The first time I’ve ever seen that happen,” said Jones.
Rep. Pearson tweeted out, “We took to the House floor demanding justice to end the support of the NRA, end the support of gun violence, & end support of these guns. The @TNGOP continue to support gun violence to the detriment of children, parents, & families. We must never quit!” alongside a picture of himself holding a sign reading “PROTECT KIDS NOT GUNS” and raising a fist.
Leading the charge against the Democrats is a trio of Republican state Reps. Gino Bulso, Bud Hulsey, and Andrew Farmer, who filed the resolutions, which cited “disorderly behavior” and “did knowingly and intentionally bring disorder and dishonor to the House of Representatives.” They also successfully requested an expedited process.
House Democrats have released a statement of support, stating “The Democratic Caucus has unanimously, formally voted to oppose the baseless resolutions for expulsion and will zealously oppose them should they come up for a vote on the House floor.”
The vote which will determine the fate of the three members is currently set for this Thursday.
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