Tennessee House expels two Democratic lawmakers after gun violence protest

The Republican-controlled Tennessee House of Representatives on Thursday voted to expel two out of three Democratic state lawmakers after they participated in a protest against gun violence on the House floor. 

The lawmakers voted 72-25 to expel state Rep. Justin Jones (D-Nashville) and 69-26 to expel state Rep. Justin Pearson (D-Memphis) for their participation in the recent demonstrations. Rep. Gloria Johnson (D-Knoxville), who demonstrated alongside Jones and Pearson, survived her expulsion vote after the House failed to meet the necessary two-thirds majority.

Protesters descended on the Tennessee Capitol to protest gun violence in the wake of a mass shooting last month that left three 9-year-olds and three adults dead at a private Christian school in Nashville.

Jones, Johnson and Pearson last week led chants on the House floor during the protests, and the trio were stripped of their committee assignments earlier this week.

“To those who here will cast a vote for expulsion, I was fighting for your children, too, to live free from the terror of school shootings,” Jones said in a speech to defend himself just before the vote. He said it was a “very dark day for Tennessee, because it will signal to the nation that there is no democracy in this state.”

State Rep. Justin Jones (D-Nashville) delivers remarks on the floor of the Tennessee House chamber on April 6 in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

“If I’m expelled from here, I’ll be back out there with the people every week demanding that you act. If you expel me, I will continue to show up because this issue is too important,” Jones said. 

Demonstrators could be heard in the background of the floor debate.

After the final vote expelling Pearson was read aloud, chants of “Shame on you!” echoed throughout the chamber.

Rep. Justin Pearson, D-Memphis, raises his fists on the floor of the House chamber on Thursday, April 6, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Members of the Tennessee House have moved to expel elected colleagues just three other times since the Civil War era, according to the Tennessean.

The three lawmakers were seen in videos entering the chamber on Thursday with their arms interlocked and fists raised, surrounded by demonstrators. The gun safety advocacy group March for Our Lives and other groups tagged the trio of state lawmakers as “The Tennessee Three.” 

The White House on Thursday condemned the move to expel the lawmakers. “The fact that this vote is happening is shocking, undemocratic and without precedent,” said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.

The Associated Press reports that Jones, and any other lawmaker who is expelled, would be able to be appointed back into the seat in the interim before a special election, and could then run in the special election to regain their seat.

“My conduct on that day was what I felt compelled in my heart to do for my constituents,” Johnson said.