Tennessee state Rep. Justin Pearson (D) called out the Republican legislature after Friday’s vote to expel him and other Democrats of the state House of Representatives for his participation in anti-gun violence protests after the school massacre in Nashville.
“We cannot normalize the end of democracy,” Pearson to reporters on Thursday night after being evicted.
Protesters have gathered on the House floor last week to demand legislation to address gun violence March 27 school shooting who killed three adults and three 9-year-old students. Three Democrats — Pearson, Rep. Justin Jones and Rep. Gloria Johnson — led a series of chants with the protesters without being recognized on the floor of the House to speak.
GOP lawmakers moved to expel three Democrats over the conduct, which they described as “reckless behavior” that “knowingly and intentionally” brought “disruption and disorder” to the House.
The House, which holds a Republican majority, expelled Pearson on Thursday by a 69-26 vote, after a crowd in the gallery chanted “Shame on you! Shame on you!”
“If you want to fight for change, if you want to help make this place better, you have to use your voice, you have to use power, and, yes, sometimes you have to be pushed out, and you have to push out. “said Pearson.
Pearson said the “racial dynamics” of the vote cannot be ignored. Pearson and Jones, who were black, were expelled. But Johnson, who is white, kept his seat because he fell short of the 66 votes needed to guarantee his ouster.
“You can’t ignore the racial dynamics that are happening today. Two young black MPs were expelled and one white woman wasn’t? That’s a statement in itself,” he said.
Democrats insisted they would return to continue fighting the country’s gun bans, and they criticized Republicans for wanting to “stay the same.”
“We see gun violence every day. We have so many loved ones, and people here are taking things as business as usual. It’s not business as usual. Our lives are at stake, because we’re going to fight for our lives like we’re fighting” for the Association National Rifle, Pearson said.
President Joe Biden voiced his criticism of Tennessee’s GOP lawmakers, calling the expulsions of Jones and Pearson “undemocratic.”
“Three children and three officers were shot dead in another mass shooting. And what is the focus of GOP officials? Punishing lawmakers who join thousands of peaceful protesters demanding action. This is shocking, undemocratic, and without precedent,” Biden said in a tweet on Thursday.