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In the wake of a school shooting in Nashville that left six people dead, three Democratic lawmakers took to the floor of the Republican-controlled Tennessee House chamber in late March to rally for stricter gun control. Protesters listen from the Tennessee House gallery during a protest to demand action on gun reform laws and to support three lawmakers who faced an expulsion vote — in what experts call an extraordinary disciplinary move. In Tennessee, Republican lawmakers have been supportive of the idea to strengthen school safety, but they have largely rejected calls for stricter gun controls with only weeks to go in the legislative session. In an extraordinary move, Tennessee's Republican-led House voted Thursday to expel two of three Democratic lawmakers who recently led a raucous protest from the House floor calling for gun law reforms. Johnson, a retired teacher, said her concern about school shootings was personal, recalling a day in 2008 when students came running toward her out of a cafeteria because a student had just been shot and killed.
Ousted lawmaker sworn back into his House seat on steps of state capitol
President Joe Biden on Thursday night slammed the decision to Tennessee House Republicans to expel two Democratic lawmakers after they broke House rules to lead a gun-reform protest from the chamber's floor. Shelby County Commissioner Mickell Lowery also called a special meeting over Pearson's expulsion. The Metro Council of Nashville called a special meeting for Monday, April 10, to fill Jones' seat and unanimously voted to reinstate him. Prior to the vote, Nashville mayor John Cooper said he was "proud" that the council was meeting and would "send (Jones) right back to continue serving his constituents."
Who is Justin Jones?
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre began Thursday's briefing by addressing Tennessee Reps. Gloria Johnson, Justin Jones, Justin Pearson imminent expulsion from the House. Four hours after the House went into session, and 29 bills later, members are taking up the issue of expulsion for Reps. Gloria Johnson, Justin Jones, Justin Pearson. The chamber opted to view the video on a party line vote, despite objections to its authenticity. While discussion continued on the House floor, demonstrators remained outside. After further debate, Sexton directed the House Clerk to read the expulsion resolution for Rep. Justin Jones, D-Nashville, officially triggering his 20-minute defense.
What's next for Justin Jones and Justin Pearson in Tennessee?
"I absolutely never yelled," she said, adding that she "did not speak in voice louder than any other member on this floor." Windle said expulsion has been reserved for people who take bribes, commit sexual offenses, or for felons. Jones also noted the rare instances in which the House or Senate have taken such a drastic measure against a sitting, elected representative. Poncho-wearing and umbrella-wielding demonstrators began to gather at Legislative Plaza as some streamed across the street to the Capitol steps.
After more than two hours of expulsion debate, House Republicans have voted to oust Rep. Justin Jones, D-Nashville, from the Tennessee House of Representatives. Johnson brought two attorneys, former state Reps. John Mark Windle and Mike Stewart, to represent her. Windle spoke first on her behalf, pointing out specific accusations in the resolution of actions that Johnson specifically did not commit.
Why are Tennessee Democrats being expelled?
“Our members literally didn’t look at the ethnicity of the members up for expulsion,” Majority Leader William Lamberth added. He alleged Jones and Pearson were trying to incite a riot last week, while Johnson was more subdued. “I’ll be out there with the people every week, demanding that you act,” he said. Offered a chance to defend himself before the vote, Jones said the GOP responded to the shooting with a different kind of attack.
Columbia protesters seize building as schools sweep encampments nationwide
During his remarks, Pearson referenced the names of the six Covenant victims several times, but repeatedly mispronounced the name of 9-year-old Hallie Scruggs. It wasn’t walking up to the well, it wasn’t being disruptive to the status quo, it was the silencing of democracy and it’s wrong,” Pearson said. A graduate of New York University's Arthur L. Carter School of Journalism, she previously worked at NBC News' TODAY Digital.
Magnet High School student Sheeva Azad was one of many who spoke during the student and teacher rally outside the Capitol. Cohen wrote that expelling the representatives will disenfranchise their constituents. A trumpet player joined the protest on the Capitol steps as the vote got underway.
Nashville Rep. Justin Jones files lawsuit against Tennessee House Speaker for April expulsion - The Vanderbilt Hustler
Nashville Rep. Justin Jones files lawsuit against Tennessee House Speaker for April expulsion.
Posted: Sun, 15 Oct 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
The people of @brotherjones_ and @Justinjpearson’s districts were disenfranchised today. I’m proud that Metro Council is meeting Monday to fill the vacancy left in Nashville by today’s vote, & I believe they’ll send @brotherjones_ right back to continue serving his constituents. President Joe Biden issued a statement Thursday night calling it "shocking" and "undemocratic."
House Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, said the Department of Safety issued a capacity limit for protesters allowed inside the House, likely in response to a larger crowd that was let into the Capitol halls last week. Chamber and gallery were silent as Jones took the podium, but just outside the chamber doors, a crowd of protestors screamed cheers of support. Many democrats asked their colleagues to vote against expulsion, including Nashville Rep. Bob Freeman.
Before the vote, Jones, Pearson and Johnson noted that if they were expelled, more than 200,000 Tennesseans would lose the representatives they lawfully elected last fall. Jones, Pearson and Johnson called out Republican leaders for not responding to the push for gun restrictions in response to the mass-shooting crisis in the U.S. They did so, they said, to amplify the voices of protesters and their constituents.
"Unfortunately, we were obligated to levy unprecedented consequences on those members today. Our focus continues to be on the six innocent lives that were brutally taken last week at the Covenant School, not those who have chosen to make this tragedy about themselves." After the votes were concluded, she suggested that she had survived the process because she is White and Jones and Pearson are Black. He'd been one of the youngest members of the legislature and represented the state's 52nd district, which has about 70,000 residents and is part of Davidson County, the Nashville metro area. His photo and bio have been removed from the Tennessee General Assembly's website, but on his campaign site, Jones describes himself as a Nashville activist and community organizer. With two House seats left vacant, the authority to name temporary replacements fell to the local governing bodies in the districts that had been represented by Mr. Jones and Mr. Pearson.
Pearson acknowledged responsibility, and said his goal was to bring attention to the issue of gun violence. "Rather than debating the merits of the issue, these Republican lawmakers have chosen to punish, silence, and expel duly-elected representatives of the people of Tennessee," the Democratic president said in a statement. In Tennessee, just eight lawmakers have been expelled from the house in the past. Six of those were Confederates who were expelled in the 19th century for refusing to affirm the citizenship of formerly enslaved Black people. In the 20th century, a legislator was expelled after being convicted of bribery, and in 2016, a member was expelled for sexual misconduct.
Gloria Johnson was the only member of the "Tennessee Three" to not be expelled from the legislature on Thursday, retaining her seat by a single vote. She has been stripped of her committee assignments and it's unclear if those will be restored. In a rare case, Northwestern University said it reached an agreement with students and faculty who represent the majority of protesters on its campus near Chicago. It allows peaceful demonstrations through the end of spring classes in exchange for some concessions.
Before the votes, she defended her colleagues Pearson and Jones, saying the legislature has to "welcome this younger generation, who might do it a little bit differently, but they are fighting for their constituency." "We have heard from thousands of people asking us to do something about gun violence," Pearson said. Justin Jones, 27, was the first of the "Tennessee Three" to be expelled from the House, by a vote of 72-25. On Monday, April 10, the Nashville Metro Council voted unanimously to reinstate Jones, and two days later the Shelby County Commission voted unanimously to reinstate Pearson. Jones was temporarily banned from the Tennessee Capitol in 2019 after throwing a cup of liquid at former House Speaker Glen Casada and other lawmakers while protesting the bust of Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest inside the Capitol. Last year, the state Senate expelled Democrat Katrina Robinson after she was convicted of using about $3,400 in federal grant money on wedding expenses instead of her nursing school.
The day before, Shelby County commissioners unanimously voted to reinstate him. An effort to expel a third Democrat, Representative Gloria Johnson, who had stood by the two men in the front of the chamber and joined in the chants during the protest, fell short by one vote. The Tennessee House of Representatives voted to expel Pearson, 69–26.[30] HR 63, the resolution to remove Pearson, was sponsored by Andrew Farmer.[35] Charlie Baum, Bryan Richey, and John Gillespie were the three Republicans to vote against the resolution. Now, in what would be an extraordinary act of retribution for the protest, Republicans are poised to vote on Thursday to oust the three Democrats from the General Assembly and carry out the first partisan expulsion in the state’s modern history.
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