Two Democratic state lawmakers who were recently expelled by Republicans from the Tennessee legislature for their part in gun violence protests said Sunday that their GOP colleagues’ decision has “rekindled a youth-led movement to restore our democracy.”
On March 30, three state lawmakers – Justin Jones, Justin Pearson and Gloria Johnson – participated in a large protest outside the state Capitol calling for gun control measures after a shooter killed three children and three adults at a school in Nashville.
Just a few days later, the GOP supermajority in the Tennessee State House expelled Jones and Pearson, two young Black men who had recently been elected to represent predominantly Black districts in Nashville and Memphis. Johnson, a white woman, was spared the same fate by one vote.
The expulsion received national attention, with many criticizing the move as anti-democratic and racist partisan interference in the electoral process. President Joe Biden blasted Tennessee Republicans on Friday, saying the dismissal of lawmakers “who participated in peaceful protests was shocking, undemocratic and unprecedented.”
“I think the best message we’re hearing from the White House, and around the world, and people across this country is that this attack on democracy is not going to stop,” Jones told NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday. “If the Tennessee House Republicans attempt to crucify democracy, instead of raising a movement led by young people to restore our democracy, to build a multiracial coalition.”
“We’re in the middle of the third Reconstruction that started in Nashville,” he said. “And I think what the message is, is that we will continue to resist, that this is not the end. If the decision to evict us is not the ultimate authority, but the people will be responsible at the district level, and in special elections, and continue our legal process.
While the evictions rocked Tennessee and the nation, Pearson said he felt unwelcome in the state House, calling the work environment “toxic.”
“When you have people commenting on hanging you on a tree, and hanging a Black person on a tree is a form of capital punishment, when you wear a dashiki on the floor of the House and members get up and talk about your dashiki, saying that’s unprofessional, they really send a signal that you don’t belong here,” Pearson told Chuck Todd on “Meet the Press.”
“And these are the basic and basic comments and responses that we heard on the floor of the House, and the comments for me and my brother, Representative Jones,” he said. “This is about us not being included in these institutions because they are afraid of the changes that are happening in society and the voices that are rising.”
Johnsononly the Democrats of the three did not ask to be expelled, said earlier in the week that the state House changed many rules in expressing dissent after Jones and Pearson were elected.
The Tennessee House has limited the debate to what is technically five minutes, but according to Jones, Republicans have weaponized the rules to block out the entire debate.
Jones called state House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R) an “autocrat” who “won’t even call on you,” and said that he and Pearson’s voting machine were turned off when they went to support the protest.
“He runs the Capitol like his personal palace, so there is no democracy in Tennessee. Tennessee is the most undemocratic state in the country. Even in committee, you can’t talk about these issues,” Jones told Todd.
“When we try to talk about the issue of mass shootings plaguing our community, we are silenced. And all our community has to offer is a moment of silence, really, and empty thoughts and prayers. And our community deserves more than that,” he said. “But instead of responding to our community’s grief and trauma, House Speaker Cameron Sexton has once again silenced us.”
It is possible that the two legislators will return, either by re-election or by special election. Both Jones and Pearson said they ran to get their seats back if the legislative body of the respective district refuses to reappointment, it will also accept reappointment.