Democrats in Tennessee Face Expulsion From State Legislature After Gun Control Protest

Three Democratic state representatives will likely be expelled from the Tennessee state legislature in the coming days after they participated in a raucous protest calling for stricter gun control in the wake of a school shooting at Nashville. Representatives Gloria Johnson, Justin Jones, and Justin Pearson took to the floor of the Tennessee house of representatives on March 31 as thousands gathered in and around the statehouse. Equipped with a bullhorn, the three legislators interrupted the proceedings to demand stricter gun control measures. “Our fight is not over,” Mr. Pearson said into his bullhorn to protesters crowding the house chamber. “I can tell you: they will not win. It is going to come because you choose to say ‘no,’” he added, slamming his hand on a podium. On Monday evening, Republicans introduced resolutions to expel Ms. Johnson and Messrs. Jones and Pearson. “Representative Jones and his colleagues proceeded to disrupt the proceedings of the House of Representatives from approximately 10:50 AM until 11:42 AM,” the expulsion resolution regarding Mr. Jones states. It further says that the three members “did knowingly and intentionally bring disorder and dishonor to the House of Representatives through their individual and collective actions.”Article II of the Tennessee constitution states that “each house may determine the rules of its proceedings, punish its members for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two-thirds expel a member, but not a second time for the same offense.” Republicans cleared a procedural hurdle on Monday night, with two-thirds of the house voting “yes” on the expulsion. All 72 Republicans voted to expel, while 23 Democrats voted against the measures. A final expulsion vote will take place on Thursday. The speaker of the house, Cameron Sexton, said that the expulsion has nothing to do with free expression or peaceful protest, but rather the actions of the three representatives who violated the chamber’s rules. “Their actions are and will always be unacceptable, and they broke several rules of decorum and procedure on the House floor,” Mr. Sexton wrote on Twitter. “Their actions and beliefs that they could be arrested on the House floor were an effort, unfortunately, to make themselves the victims. In effect, those actions took away the voices of the protestors.”As members debated the expulsion resolutions late Monday night, protesters crowded the public viewing gallery of the house of representatives, crying “fascist” at those who were trying to push out the three Democrats. Mr. Sexton promptly cleared the chamber of both protesters and members of the press. As the chamber was being cleared, Mr. Jones had his phone grabbed by a Republican colleague, Representative Justin Lafferty. Mr. Jones and his two colleagues remain defiant even in the face of expulsion, saying that they are engaging in “good trouble” — the phrase often used by a late congressman, John Lewis, who was arrested more than 40 times during his involvement in the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s. Ms. Johnson called the actions of her Republican colleagues “unprecedented” and has said she would likely sue if she and the other members are expelled. She argues that the protest — while it may have violated House rules — is constitutionally protected speech. The protest was inspired by the recent shooting at the Covenant School at Nashville that left three children, three adults, and the shooter dead.

Democrats in Tennessee Face Expulsion From State Legislature After Gun Control Protest

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