Tennessee Republicans fire two Democrats over a mass shooting protest

Tennessee Republican legislators On Thursday, she voted to expel two Democratic lawmakers who joined a protest on the House floor last week after the fatal school shooting in Nashville.

On March 30th Protesters gathered at the Capitol Buildingand Democratic Representatives Justin Jones, Gloria Johnson, and Justin Pearson lead the “Power to the People” chant from the House floor.

On Thursday, lawmakers voted for the first time 72-25 to expel Jones, 27, one of the legislature’s youngest members. The decision to evict Johnson failed by one vote, 65 to 30. But Pearson, also 28, was evicted, 69 to 26. The vast majority of the GOP accused the representatives of violating the house rules of conduct and decency.

“It’s not about kicking us out as individuals,” Jones said before the vote. “This is your attempt to kick people’s votes out of people’s homes. It’s not going to work.” “Your overreaction, your show of false strength, has awakened a generation of people who will let you know your time is up.”

the Forced expulsion of legislators From any state legislature in the United States is extremely rare. Tennessee has a home Eight MPs have already been expelled Six Confederate racists in the 19th century for refusing to confirm citizenship for formerly enslaved blacks, one in the 20th century for a bribery conviction, and one in the 21st century for sexual misconduct.

“The expulsion of lawmakers who participated in a peaceful protest today is shocking, undemocratic, and unprecedented,” President Biden said in a statement Thursday evening. “Instead of arguing the merits of this case, these Republican lawmakers have chosen to punish, silence, and expel the duly elected representatives of the people of Tennessee.”

Each of the lawmakers facing expulsion has been given time to speak before the vote.

“The world is watching Tennessee,” said Jones. “What is happening here today is a travesty of democracy. What is happening here today is a situation where the jury has already announced the verdict publicly.”

Jones said he was speaking on behalf of young voters in his district who were “scared” about the mass shooting and criticized the house for not expelling other members who had confessed to crimes or misbehaved in their roles.

In remarks before the vote, Johnson, a retired teacher, called allegations that she was screaming and hitting the podium during the protest “false”. She also recounted her own experience with a school shooting.

“I have to raise the voice of the people in my area,” Johnson said. “My parents sent me here because I am a fighter.”

Johnson, 60, defended her younger colleagues who are facing expulsion. “We have to welcome this young generation, who may do it a little differently, but they are fighting for their constituency,” she said just before the vote.

When the decision to expel her failed, Johnson’s supporters in the auditorium cheered.

In his remarks before the vote, Pearson, who is Black, invoked the civil rights movement and civil disobedience, saying that Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. had spoken of putting “consciousness above plinth.”

“We’ve heard from thousands of people asking us to do something about gun violence,” Pearson said. “What is in the interest of our people is to end gun violence.”

“This country was built on protest,” he added in his emotional inaugural address. “You who celebrate July 4th, 1776, say it is wrong to protest.”

Before the vote, Republican Representative Johnny Garrett criticized the three lawmakers and moved to obtain a seven-minute video showing lawmakers on the ground during the protest. Democrats fought showing the video, questioning the appropriateness, source, and usefulness of showing it.

The video showed Johnson, Jones, and Pearson talking on the floor of the house, using a trumpet to amplify their voices. Some lawmakers gathered behind them, and protesters could be heard in the background. Democrats questioned the video, as filming on the floor violated house rules, with Democratic Party Chairman John Ray Clemons calling it hypocritical that the person who made the video would not be punished in the same way as Johnson, Jones and Pearson.

The eviction votes received national attention, as Republicans in Tennessee faced intense political criticism. White House press secretary Karen Jean-Pierre accused lawmakers of focusing on rebuking Democrats and “being indifferent in the face of yet another tragic school shooting while our children continue to pay the price.”

He had three children and three teachers He was killed in a school shooting At Covenant Private School in Nashville, Tennessee. The shooter was armed with multiple weapons and was killed by police within minutes of the attack being reported.

“What have the Republican lawmakers done? They are trying to expel these three Democratic lawmakers who participated in the protest,” Jean-Pierre said on Wednesday.

Several votes took place before a vote to expel the lawmakers. Those votes were on bills including HB322, to toughen schools with closed doors and drills, which passed 95 to 4, with the “Tennessee Three” and another Democrat voting “no.” House Bill 1051, which would expand mental health benefits across the state, passed by a majority of 97 and without a vote. The House also passed bills to increase school security and an amendment that would implement a mobile panic alert system that would allow first responders to communicate in real time was also voted on.

Pearson has challenged the bills and said they did not go far enough.

“Are you saying kids are going to go to school and those resource people are going to have AR-15s on them?” Pearson asked. “This is part of what I think is an episodic problem of not addressing the root causes. The root cause that each and every one of us has to address is the gun violence epidemic due to the proliferation of guns.”

Bo Mitchell, another Democrat, compared the bills to using “painkillers to cure cancer,” stating that the United States is an anomaly when it comes to school shootings and “mass killings.” Shouts could be heard from outside the room as he spoke.