In an extraordinary, emotionally charged session marked by tense exchanges and punctuated by boos and chants from onlookers, the Republican-controlled Tennessee House of Representatives voted to expel two Black lawmakers – but failed to oust a third representative – on Thursday, nearly a week after the three Democrats led a gun reform protest in the chamber.
The crowd in the gallery erupted in boos and chants following both expulsions, and loud cheers when the vote count turned up just short in the bid to oust Representative Gloria Johnson. The session lasted seven hours. The vote over rules violations - breaking decorum during a gun control protest - for Justin Jones split along party lines 72-25, while the vote in Justin Pearson’s case was 69-26. Johnson’s vote was 65-30. Expulsion from the House requires a two-thirds majority of the total membership.
Protesters upset with inaction on gun violence reform after a deadly mass shooting at a Nashville school again flooded the state Capitol on Thursday, as the session to vote on the expulsions – a step the state House has taken only twice since the 1860s – was to begin.
During the debate over his expulsion, Jones said, “we called for you all to ban assault weapons and you respond with an assault on democracy.”
After surviving her vote, Johnson, who is white, was asked why there was a difference in the outcome for her and Jones, who is Black-Filipino. "It might have to do with the color of our skin," she said.
Jones, Pearson and Johnson are now being called "the Tennessee three".
Disorderly protest on House floor
The three lawmakers led a protest on the House floor last Thursday without being recognized, and used a bullhorn as demonstrators at the Capitol called on lawmakers to take action after the shooting at the Covenant School in Nashville left three 9-year-olds and three adults dead. Each lawmaker was removed from their committee assignments following last week’s demonstrations.
Each of the resolutions said the lawmakers “did knowingly and intentionally bring disorder and dishonor to the House of Representatives,” saying they “began shouting without recognition” and “proceeded to disrupt the proceedings of the House Representatives” for just under an hour Thursday morning.
The resolutions removed the two lawmakers from office under Article II, Section 12 of the Tennessee Constitution, which says, in part, the House can set its own rules and “punish its members for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two-thirds, expel a member.”
Former Rep. Jones defiant, but uncertain about future
Jones was defiant in his defense and again used his time in the well to call for action on firearms legislation.
“There comes a time where people get sick and tired of being sick and tired,” Jones said in a speech prior to a vote on his expulsion. “And so my colleagues, I say that what we did was act in our responsibility as legislators to serve and give voice to the grievances of people who have been silenced.” Jones added, “how can you bring dishonor to an already dishonorable house?”
As he left the Capitol on Thursday, Jones said he is not sure what his next steps are following his expulsion. “I will continue to show up to this Capitol with these young people whether I’m in that chamber or outside,” Jones told reporters.
It is possible Jones and Pearson could regain their seats as local governments can vote to fill the vacated positions through appointments then hold special elections.
Expulsion of representatives an exception, not the rule
In the last 157 years, the House has expelled only two lawmakers: in 1980, after a representative was found guilty of accepting a bribe while in office, and in 2016, when another was expelled over allegations of sexual harassment.
Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives, Cameron Sexton, said peaceful protesters have always been welcomed to the capitol to have their voices heard on any issue, but that the actions of the three Democratic lawmakers had detracted from that process.
https://twitter.com/CSexton25/status/1642933503389057025
“In effect, those actions took away the voices of the protestors, the focus on the six victims who lost their lives, and the families who lost their loved ones,” Sexton said in a series of tweets Monday. “We cannot allow the actions of the three members to distract us from protecting our children. We will get through this together, and it will require talking about all solutions,” Sexton wrote.
During the floor debate on Thursday, Democratic Rep. Joe Towns called the move to expel the “nuclear option.” “You never use a sledgehammer to kill a gnat,” Towns said. “We should not go to the extreme of expelling our members for fighting for what many of the citizens want to happen, whether you agree with it or not.”
Nashville Mayor John Cooper said in a tweet Thursday night that Jones and Pearson’s districts were “disenfranchised today.”
But to some, the vote to expel Johnson, Jones and Pearson was a distraction from the real issue: Keeping children safe.
Biden criticizes expulsion of legislators
In a tweet, U.S. President Joe Biden criticized the expulsion of the two lawmakers from the Tennessee House of Representatives.
https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1644100520636739586
“Three kids and three officials gunned down in yet another mass shooting. And what are GOP officials focused on? Punishing lawmakers who joined thousands of peaceful protesters calling for action. It’s shocking, undemocratic, and without precedent,” he wrote.
The crowd in the gallery erupted in boos and chants following both expulsions, and loud cheers when the vote count turned up just short in the bid to oust Representative Gloria Johnson. The session lasted seven hours. The vote over rules violations - breaking decorum during a gun control protest - for Justin Jones split along party lines 72-25, while the vote in Justin Pearson’s case was 69-26. Johnson’s vote was 65-30. Expulsion from the House requires a two-thirds majority of the total membership.
Protesters upset with inaction on gun violence reform after a deadly mass shooting at a Nashville school again flooded the state Capitol on Thursday, as the session to vote on the expulsions – a step the state House has taken only twice since the 1860s – was to begin.
During the debate over his expulsion, Jones said, “we called for you all to ban assault weapons and you respond with an assault on democracy.”
After surviving her vote, Johnson, who is white, was asked why there was a difference in the outcome for her and Jones, who is Black-Filipino. "It might have to do with the color of our skin," she said.
Jones, Pearson and Johnson are now being called "the Tennessee three".
Disorderly protest on House floor
The three lawmakers led a protest on the House floor last Thursday without being recognized, and used a bullhorn as demonstrators at the Capitol called on lawmakers to take action after the shooting at the Covenant School in Nashville left three 9-year-olds and three adults dead. Each lawmaker was removed from their committee assignments following last week’s demonstrations.
Each of the resolutions said the lawmakers “did knowingly and intentionally bring disorder and dishonor to the House of Representatives,” saying they “began shouting without recognition” and “proceeded to disrupt the proceedings of the House Representatives” for just under an hour Thursday morning.
The resolutions removed the two lawmakers from office under Article II, Section 12 of the Tennessee Constitution, which says, in part, the House can set its own rules and “punish its members for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two-thirds, expel a member.”
Former Rep. Jones defiant, but uncertain about future
Jones was defiant in his defense and again used his time in the well to call for action on firearms legislation.
“There comes a time where people get sick and tired of being sick and tired,” Jones said in a speech prior to a vote on his expulsion. “And so my colleagues, I say that what we did was act in our responsibility as legislators to serve and give voice to the grievances of people who have been silenced.” Jones added, “how can you bring dishonor to an already dishonorable house?”
As he left the Capitol on Thursday, Jones said he is not sure what his next steps are following his expulsion. “I will continue to show up to this Capitol with these young people whether I’m in that chamber or outside,” Jones told reporters.
It is possible Jones and Pearson could regain their seats as local governments can vote to fill the vacated positions through appointments then hold special elections.
Expulsion of representatives an exception, not the rule
In the last 157 years, the House has expelled only two lawmakers: in 1980, after a representative was found guilty of accepting a bribe while in office, and in 2016, when another was expelled over allegations of sexual harassment.
Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives, Cameron Sexton, said peaceful protesters have always been welcomed to the capitol to have their voices heard on any issue, but that the actions of the three Democratic lawmakers had detracted from that process.
https://twitter.com/CSexton25/status/1642933503389057025
“In effect, those actions took away the voices of the protestors, the focus on the six victims who lost their lives, and the families who lost their loved ones,” Sexton said in a series of tweets Monday. “We cannot allow the actions of the three members to distract us from protecting our children. We will get through this together, and it will require talking about all solutions,” Sexton wrote.
During the floor debate on Thursday, Democratic Rep. Joe Towns called the move to expel the “nuclear option.” “You never use a sledgehammer to kill a gnat,” Towns said. “We should not go to the extreme of expelling our members for fighting for what many of the citizens want to happen, whether you agree with it or not.”
Nashville Mayor John Cooper said in a tweet Thursday night that Jones and Pearson’s districts were “disenfranchised today.”
But to some, the vote to expel Johnson, Jones and Pearson was a distraction from the real issue: Keeping children safe.
Biden criticizes expulsion of legislators
In a tweet, U.S. President Joe Biden criticized the expulsion of the two lawmakers from the Tennessee House of Representatives.
https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1644100520636739586
“Three kids and three officials gunned down in yet another mass shooting. And what are GOP officials focused on? Punishing lawmakers who joined thousands of peaceful protesters calling for action. It’s shocking, undemocratic, and without precedent,” he wrote.