Tennessee House falls short in vote to expel second Democrat over gun protests

The Tennessee House of Representatives fell short on Thursday in its vote to expel a second Democratic representative over her participation in a protest against gun violence on the House floor last week. 

State lawmakers voted 65-30 to expel State Rep. Gloria Johnson (D-Knoxville), failing to reach the required two-thirds majority in the Republican-controlled chamber. The final vote was met with chants of “Gloria! Gloria!”

“We have got to be allowed to stand up and speak for our constituents,” Johnson said, ahead of the vote. “And we have to welcome this younger generation, who might do it a little differently, but they are fighting like hell for their constituents.”

Johnson joined her fellow Democratic state Reps. Justin Jones (Nashville) and Justin Pearson (Memphis) in leading chants on the House floor last week, in the wake of a shooting at a Nashville elementary school that left three children and three staff members dead.

Lawmakers successfully voted 72-25 to expel Jones from the legislature earlier on Thursday. In the evening, they also voted to remove Pearson in a 69-26 vote.

Johnson, who is white, suggested after the vote that the differing results between herself and Jones “might have to do with the color of our skin.” Both Jones and Pearson are Black.