The Republican majority of the Tennessee House of Representatives voted on the expulsion of three Democratic members of the House for participating in anti-gun protests from the chamber floor, with two of the members being expelled from office. Rep. Justin Jones and Rep. Justin Pearson were both removed by votes of 72-25 and 69-26, while the vote to expel Rep. Gloria Johnson, a white woman, failed to get enough votes to remove her from her position. Representatives Jones and Pearson are both black men.
The resolutions accused all three of engaging in “disorderly behavior” and bringing “disorder and dishonor to the House of Representatives.” Republican Rep. Gino Bulso, who introduced one of the expulsion resolutions, said yesterday “They tried to shred our constitution with a bullhorn.” Special elections will have to be called by Governor Bill Lee to replace the two expelled men.
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The Congressional Black Caucus said in a statement after yesterday’s votes that the actions made it “clear that racism is alive and well in Tennessee.” Rep. Pearson, when asked why her resolution failed, told a reporter that it “might have to do with the color of my skin.”
Former President Barack Obama tweeted that the US was built on peaceful protest, and called the action taken by the Tennessee legislature yesterday the “latest example of a broader erosion of civility and democratic norms.”
Jones and Pearson will be able to run in the special elections to fill their seats, which the governor has 30 days to set a date for. Interim representatives will be chosen by county commissions to fill the seats until the special elections are held.
This isn’t the first time the Tennessee legislature has voted to expel a member; the House last voted to expel a sitting member in 2016 when they removed Jeremy Durham over sexual misconduct allegations. The state Senate expelled one of its members for the first time in its history last year, when Katrina Robinson was removed after she was convicted on federal wire fraud charges.
Source: NBC News