Table Of Content
- Ousted lawmaker sworn back into his House seat on steps of state capitol
- Nashville Public Radio in your inbox
- Tennessee’s House expels 2 of 3 Democrats over guns protest
- House protest followed Nashville school shooting
- Tennessee House of Representatives expulsions
- Tennessee House advances bill to ban reappointing lawmakers booted for behavior
Jones slammed Republicans for their partisan vote and described the unprecedented move as a "lynching of democracy." As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Ousted lawmaker sworn back into his House seat on steps of state capitol
Demonstrators inside the Capitol gathered around a small screen to listen intently to the debate. Jones then accused Bulso of calling him a "damned disgrace" in a private moment earlier this week. Jones repeatedly said he was driven to protest in the well in order to represent his constituents. He later walked up to the gallery, watching the legislative hearing below as a member of the public. House Republicans fell one vote short in an attempt to expel Rep. Gloria Johnson from the Tennessee House of Representatives, in a shocking vote of 65 to 30, falling just one vote short of the 66 votes needed to prevail.
Tennessee's Legislature Can't Move Past the Bitter Clashes of 2023 - The New York Times
Tennessee's Legislature Can't Move Past the Bitter Clashes of 2023.
Posted: Fri, 02 Feb 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]
Nashville Public Radio in your inbox
A special election will be called to fill the two seats vacated by the expulsion of the two Democrats. But Jones and Pearson are both eligible to run again, Carrie Russell, a political science professor at Vanderbilt University, told Yahoo News. The winner of that election will fulfill the remainder of the term before having to run for reelection in 2024. Upon Pearson’s return to the House floor, lawmakers debated legislation that deals with the teaching of “divisive concepts” regarding race, gender and sex on college campuses.
Tennessee’s House expels 2 of 3 Democrats over guns protest
The Covenant shooting upended gun politics in Tennessee, as some conservatives newly called for firearm restrictions in a state that has been historically averse to passing them. After Lee signed an executive order to strengthen background checks, he broke with fellow Republicans in calling for red-flag laws and ordered the legislature to convene a special session on public safety. The expulsion of two elected Tennessee House members was, in part, made possible by the fact that Republicans hold a supermajority in that chamber, meaning they can push through most bills, rules changes and other orders of business unilaterally.
"Unfortunately, we were obligated to levy unprecedented consequences on those members today. Our focus continues to be on the six innocent lives that were brutally taken last week at the Covenant School, not those who have chosen to make this tragedy about themselves." After the votes were concluded, she suggested that she had survived the process because she is White and Jones and Pearson are Black. He'd been one of the youngest members of the legislature and represented the state's 52nd district, which has about 70,000 residents and is part of Davidson County, the Nashville metro area.
Tennessee House of Representatives expulsions
Speaking in response to questions from a Republican lawmaker, Johnson disagreed that she had shouted from the floor. Windle said expulsion has been reserved for people who take bribes, commit sexual offenses, or for felons. A motion was adopted to allow Johnson, Pearson and Jones 20 minutes each to speak on their own behalf, including time for their attorneys. The trio, whom supporters call "The Tennessee Three," have already been stripped of their committee assignments.
"We had a child molester on the floor for years, they helped him get reelected and did nothing to expel him," said Johnson, who filed a resolution to expel Byrd at the time. "We've had members pee in each other's chairs. We've had members illegally prescribe drugs to their cousin-mistress, and nothing happened. But talk on the floor without permission, and you'll get expelled." The House last expelled a sitting lawmaker in 2016, when the chamber voted 70-2 to remove then-Rep. Jeremy Durham, R-Franklin, over allegations he had harassed nearly two dozen women while in office. One week ago we had members take it upon themselves to rush the well and stop the people’s business." The two vacant seats will be filled, and both Jones and Pearson could soon return to the legislature.
Protesters listen from the Tennessee House gallery during a protest to demand action on gun reform laws and to support three lawmakers who faced an expulsion vote — in what experts call an extraordinary disciplinary move. Pearson and Jones were expelled from the Tennessee House of Representatives on Thursday after the two of them and Rep. Gloria Johnson staged a demonstration on the House floor calling for gun reform and leading chants with a bullhorn. On Monday, he returned to the legislature after a unanimous vote by the Nashville Metropolitan Council. Tennessee law allows local legislative bodies to appoint interim members to fill the seats of expelled lawmakers until an election is held. Jones, along with former Rep. Justin Pearson, was expelled from the Tennessee House of Representatives on Thursday after the two of them and fellow Democrat, Rep. Gloria Johnson, staged a demonstration on the floor calling for gun reform and leading chants with a bullhorn. The state House took up resolutions to expel three Democratic lawmakers over their actions interrupting a floor session and using a bullhorn to lead chants for gun control.
“There’s a very low probability that even one-tenth of 1 percent [of teachers] would do this,” said House sponsor Rep. Ryan Williams (R) during floor debate Tuesday. Lawmakers declined to enact significant legislation, swatting away proposals to remove guns from mentally unstable individuals and passing more incremental measures. In February 2017, Rep. Mark Lovell, R-Eads, left office while facing allegations of sexual harassment. Lovell, who was a freshman lawmaker, was later found to have violated the legislature’s harassment policy. Under the legislature’s harassment policy, an internal investigation must begin immediately after the complaints are received.
Johnson, who narrowly avoided expulsion, told reporters that the reason she kept her position and her Black colleagues didn't "might have to do with the color of our skin." Following the Thursday expulsion of Jones and Pearson, the legislators themselves -- among others -- criticized the move as "undemocratic." Still, Krishnakumar notes that in highly polarized times, elected officials are hunting for ways to score points with their supporters and one-up the opposing party. "Most expulsions have involved criminal conduct or abusive behavior, not suppression of dissent or targeting of political opponents," state constitutional law expert Miriam Seifter told NPR in an email.
The Congressional Black Caucus released a statement Monday after Rep. Justin Jones was reinstated to his seat in the Tennessee House of Representatives. Sitting in puddles on the first floor of the closest parking garage to the Capitol, a group of demonstrators carefully wrapped tape around their signs to waterproof them an hour before the rally even started. About 265 legislators from 35 different states signed a letter in support of Reps. Gloria Johnson, Justin Jones, and Justin Pearson, according to the State Innovation Exchange. “All of the people in the gallery, I love that you’re here, I hope that you stay quiet so that you can witness this process,” Johnson said.
Protesters in the gallery erupted into screams and House Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, called for the vote anyway. All three resolutions passed along party lines — making it difficult for Democrats to block the final vote today. "Rather than debating the merits of the issue, these Republican lawmakers have chosen to punish, silence, and expel duly-elected representatives of the people of Tennessee," the Democratic president said in a statement. The expulsions mark the fourth time since the end of the Civil War when House members expelled their elected colleagues. While Jones is a freshman lawmaker, he is no stranger to the Capitol and led public protests against the lawmakers who later became his colleagues. In 2019, he led sit-ins to call for the removal of the bust of Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest from the Capitol, and was once arrested for tossing liquid at the former House speaker.
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