The Republican-controlled Tennessee House of Representatives has ousted two Democrats after they staged a demonstration
Tennessee State Troopers block the stairwell leading to the legislative chambers Thursday, April 6, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn. © AP Photo/George Walker IV
The Tennessee House of Representatives voted on Thursday to expel two Democratic lawmakers, after they were accused of breaching rules of conduct by holding a gun-control protest on the floor of the chamber.
President Joe Biden was quick to criticize the move by the Republican-led legislature, describing it as “undemocratic.”
Representative Justin Jones was expelled by a vote of 72 to 25, while 69 lawmakers backed the removal of his colleague, Justin Pearson, who only assumed office on March 27. Fellow Democrat Gloria Johnson narrowly escaped the same fate as the resolution to oust her failed by a single vote.
There have only been a handful of such cases since the end of the American Civil War.
According to The Tennessean newspaper, protesters supporting the expelled lawmakers chanted “shame on you” and “fascists!” from the House gallery after the votes were counted. At least 20 people reportedly staged a demonstration described as a “die-in” outside the chamber doors.
Pearson branded the expulsion decision the “erosion of democracy in the state legislature,” vowing that “we will never quit.”
The two ousted lawmakers, who are both black, also pointed out that their white colleague had been spared, alleging there was a “racial dynamic” at play. Republican leaders denied those claims.
Last week, Jones and Pearson disrupted House proceedings by leading chants from the floor with a bullhorn, claiming that Republicans had failed to address the issue of gun control in the wake of a mass shooting at the Covenant School in Nashville late last month.
Johnson, who also took part in the protest, insists she did not use the bullhorn. All three Democrats also encouraged children, parents, and others who had supported them at the legislature to chant gun-control slogans as well.
The incident resulted in resolutions of expulsion being filed against the lawmakers for “knowingly and intentionally bring[ing] disorder and dishonor” to the legislature.
While the ousted officials admitted to breaching the code of conduct, many fellow Democrats argued their expulsion was unjustified.
President Biden issued a statement on Thursday, describing the two lawmakers’ removal as “shocking, undemocratic, and without precedent.”
He accused the Republicans of failing to meaningfully discuss the issue of gun violence, and claimed they were instead focusing on going after their Democratic colleagues.
