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Pearson told supporters that having a voice and a vision in the state House matters. Now that he's back in office, Jones was told he can file 15 bills – as he's now technically a new member – which he said he plans to do by the end of the week. "Today was a powerful day and a testament to people power," reinstated Rep. Justin Jones said Monday. From the floor, they roused cheers from the crowd in the galleries before the chamber gaveled in for business. Her husband said "honoring Katherine compels us to remember a 7th family, a 7th family equally wounded in the loss of someone dear to them," and he called on the community to support them as well.
What happens next? Will they get their seats back?
On April 6, state Reps. Justin Jones and Justin J. Pearson were expelled for allegedly violating the chamber's rules of decorum by participating in a gun control protest at the state Capitol last week. The protest was in response to the mass school shooting in Nashville that left three children and three adults dead. Before Pearson returned to the chamber, lawmakers cheered and applauded as the police officers who responded to the deadly March 27 mass shooting at a Nashville elementary school shooting — the event that prompted the gun control protest — were honored in the chamber. Democratic state Rep. Bob Freeman praised the officers’ bravery but also stressed to his fellow lawmakers that “inaction is not an option” on how to respond to the tragedy. Jones, Pearson and Johnson joined in protesting last week as hundreds of demonstrators packed the Capitol to call for passage of gun-control measures. As the protesters filled galleries, the three approached the front of the House chamber with a bullhorn and participated in a chant.
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He was elected in a January 2023 special election after the incumbent, Barbara Cooper, had died. He represented the state's 86th district, which has about 64,000 residents and is part of Shelby County, where Memphis is located. Republicans, who hold a large majority of seats, immediately pledged a rapid response. (Pearson was newly elected and had yet to receive any committee assignments.) Motions to expel the three from the legislature were introduced by three different Tennessee Republicans on April 3, accusing the trio of "disorderly behavior."
Gloria Johnson
After a brief spirited debate involving Pearson and Jones, Republicans used procedural rules to immediately halt discussion and force members to vote on the bill. The move exasperated Democrats, who immediately pointed out that cutting off debate and silencing dissenters was what led the so-called Tennessee three to break House rules after being cut off from previous debates. After delivering his speech to supporters and reporters outside the Capitol, Pearson walked into the House chamber as debate on bills was underway.
GOP-led Tennessee House votes to silence state Rep. Justin Jones - The Washington Post
GOP-led Tennessee House votes to silence state Rep. Justin Jones.
Posted: Tue, 29 Aug 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
'Tennessee Three' Representative Says He's Been Kicked Off Committee - Newsweek
'Tennessee Three' Representative Says He's Been Kicked Off Committee.
Posted: Fri, 12 Jan 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]
Democratic Reps. Justin Pearson of Memphis, Justin Jones of Nashville and Gloria Johnson of Knoxville face expulsion after they led a protest at the Capitol. A week ago Johnson, Jones and Pearson approached the House podium between bills during the session without being recognized, a breach of chamber rules. A week ago Reps. Gloria Johnson of Knoxville, Justin Jones of Nashville and Justin Pearson of Memphis approached the podium between bills during the session without being recognized, a breach of chamber rules. The pair, later flanked by Johnson, grew frustrated as House leadership moved on to regular business just days after the mass shooting. The move marked a rare defeat on a GOP-backed proposal initially introduced nearly one year ago. It easily cleared the Republican-controlled Senate last April, but lawmakers eventually hit pause as the House became consumed with controversy over expelling two Black Democratic lawmakers for their participating in a pro-gun control protest from the House floor.
Margo Price says her megaphone was not used on the House floor
Rep. Gloria Johnson, D-Knoxville, was not expelled after the resolution to oust her failed by one vote. “If after looking at his conduct, they vote he come back, we will recognize him as a representative,” Bulso said, referring to the floor protest as a "mutiny." Rep. Gino Bulso, R-Brentwood, repeatedly stated Jones wanted to be expelled, but noted the Constitution would allow him to elected again after expulsion. Johnson this week decried the expulsion as a double-standard and politically motivated.
Jones and Pearson, two young Black lawmakers, were expelled for waging a protest on the House floor last April calling for gun control just days after a Christian elementary school shooting in Nashville killed six people. They and Democratic Rep. Gloria Johnson joined chants by protesters in the public gallery and outside the chamber. Jones, Pearson and Johnson had led supporters in chants calling for restrictions on guns after a shooting at a Nashville school killed six people, including three 9-year-old children. The three legislators broke House rules by speaking when they were not recognized to do so, with Jones and Pearson addressing protesters with a bullhorn.
The political legacy of the expulsions
On April 6, state Reps. Justin Jones and Justin J. Pearson were expelled for allegedly violating the chamber's rules of decorum by protesting gun control on the House floor. “Rather than debating the merits of the issue (of gun control), these Republican lawmakers have chosen to punish, silence, and expel duly-elected representatives of the people of Tennessee,” Biden said in a statement. Reps. Justin Jones, D-Nashville, and Justin Pearson, D-Memphis, were ousted not for committing crimes but for breaching the rules of decorum.
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Under the legislation, the identities of school staffers who sign up to carry guns is known only to those who approve participants. That means parents would not be told whether their school opted into the program, whether anyone at their child’s campus is armed or whether their own child’s teacher has a gun in the classroom, lawmakers said. Parents also would not know whether their child’s teacher might leave the classroom to respond to a shooting during an attack. The Republican-controlled Tennessee House of Representatives voted to expel two Black Democrats Thursday afternoon, while sparing a third white colleague of that fate, after the trio of lawmakers led a protest on the House floor last week.
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." Johnson, 60, is a retired teacher who spoke of her experience surviving a school shooting before her vote. She represents the state's 90th district, part of Knox County, and is currently serving her fourth term in the legislature. Lee initially asked lawmakers to keep guns away from people deemed a danger to themselves or others in response to the shooting, the Republican supermajority ignored that request.
Despite Democrats claiming that they were raising their voices on behalf of their constituents, Tennessee Republican Caucus Chair Jeremy Faison told CNN Thursday evening that Jones and Pearson had a history of disrupting House floor proceedings. “The Republican Party today made it clear as day that a peaceful Black man with a megaphone is more threatening to them than a thousand violent white men with deadly weapons,” Boykin tweeted. Democratic Caucus Chair John Ray Clemmons of Nashville argued that the footage shot on the House floor was itself a violation of the chamber’s rules that prohibit House members from recording or live streaming ongoing proceedings.
Toughening restrictions on expelled lawmakers likely will face more scrutiny in the Senate, where Speaker Randy McNally says his chamber will await the House’s action before considering any of the proposals. Representatives who are expelled can return to their office — by being appointed by the commission and/or by running again. The state constitution also says a lawmaker can't be expelled a second time for the same offense. 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.
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. “We are going to get expelled, but the fight continues,” Rep. Pearson said as he addressed the crowd surging towards the gallery Thursday morning. Chamber and gallery were silent as Jones took the podium, but just outside the chamber doors, a crowd of protestors screamed cheers of support. 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.
"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. "When I stood up to speak on Senate Bill 99, I chose my words with precision, and I spoke with clarity because I see the real harm that these bills bring. I won't be apologizing for my remarks," she said on ABC News' Start Here podcast. Zephyr told ABC News that she believes she is being silenced by "those in power who don't want to be held accountable."
The historic, partisan expulsion process has roiled political tensions as Tennessee continues to grapple with the deadliest school shooting in its history. Before this week, the two most recent expulsions in Tennessee's House came via overwhelmingly bipartisan votes to excise members on criminal or ethical grounds, rather than a supermajority imposing its will. Withers told Tapper he believes there will be enough votes to place Jones back in his seat and that the council is hearing from supporters throughout the state. The Nashville Metropolitan Council on Monday voted to reappoint Justin Jones to Tennessee House of Representatives, sending the ousted lawmaker back to occupy the House District 52 seat as an interim representative. Rep. Justin Jones welcomed "the people back to the people's house" while speaking on the House floor for the first time since being reappointed to his seat as an interim representative. House Bill 322, the first bill taken up by the chamber, passed in a vote of 95 to 4 after lengthy debate.
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