Table Of Content
- Why are Tennessee Democrats being expelled?
- House protest followed Nashville school shooting
- What did the 'Tennessee three' lawmakers do?
- What are the House rules around expulsion?
- Tennessee House advances bill to ban reappointing lawmakers booted for behavior
- Council member urges colleagues to not play political games and “place Justin Jones back in his rightful place”
The “Tennessee three,” as they’ve come to be known, face expulsion from the House for approaching the podium between bills during session last week without being recognized, a breach of chamber rules. Emotions ran high on Thursday morning after Jones opposed a school safety bill presented by Republicans, arguing it would further militarize schools while not addressing gun reform issues. Other Democrats said they were concerned the bill treats the "symptoms" of school shootings, not the problem. The Thursday vote was widely viewed as a certainty as soon as the Republican caucus voted to file expulsion resolutions.
Why are Tennessee Democrats being expelled?
His photo and bio have been removed from the Tennessee General Assembly's website, but on his campaign site, Jones describes himself as a Nashville activist and community organizer. Vice President Kamala Harris headed to Nashville to meet with them on Friday, and President Biden spoke with the three via conference call and invited them to visit the White House.
House protest followed Nashville school shooting
"I will always stand on behalf of my constituents, my community, and democracy itself." The House voted to censure Zephyr, who is barred from participating from the House floor. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee’s Republican-dominant House on Wednesday spiked legislation that would have banned local governments from paying to either study or dispense money for reparations for slavery. Bringing guns into schools only adds risk, said the Vanderbilt University junior and volunteer with gun-control group Students Demand Action.
What did the 'Tennessee three' lawmakers do?
House Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, called for a vote on resolutions to expel the three on Monday. Many democrats asked their colleagues to vote against expulsion, including Nashville Rep. Bob Freeman. After more than two hours of expulsion debate, House Republicans have voted to oust Rep. Justin Jones, D-Nashville, from the Tennessee House of Representatives. While the House moved on from debate over Johnson's expulsion, Margo Price took to twitter to dispel claims that her megaphone was used on the house floor by Reps. Johnson, Jones and Pearson. House members turned to the final resolution to expel freshman Rep. Justin Pearson, D-Memphis. Pearson was sworn in on Monday, March 27 - the day of the Covenant attack - after a special election which he won to fill the seat of the late Rep. Barbara Cooper.
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What are the House rules around expulsion?
Pearson later said he could not "sit idly by" after lawmakers that day walked through a gauntlet of protesters, many of whom were teenagers, screaming for gun reform. Thousands of Tennesseans have marched en masse on the state Capitol three times in the 10 days since the tragedy, demanding gun reform measures the ruling party is hesitant, if not outright opposed, to publicly support. Before the House voted on Johnson's fate, House Democratic Caucus Chairman John Ray Clemmons, D-Nashville, argued there was not enough evidence to uphold the allegations in Johnson's expulsion resolution.
"The expulsion of six members from the Tennessee legislature in July 1866 was for 'the contempt of the authority of this House,' " Vanderbilt University's Russell, a principal senior lecturer in political science, told NPR. Democratic state Rep. Justin Jones of Nashville speaks before his colleagues voted to expel him from the House on Thursday. Constitutional scholars say such measures are very rare — and have uncertain consequences. The decision to return Jones to his seat came after the council voted to suspend a procedural rule that prevents an individual from being nominated and appointed to the seat in the same meeting. Magnet High School student Sheeva Azad was one of many who spoke during the student and teacher rally outside the Capitol.
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Before that, state lawmakers last ousted a House member in 2016 when the chamber voted 70-2 to remove Republican Rep. Jeremy Durham over allegations of improper sexual contact with at least 22 women during his four years in office. The split votes drew accusations of racism, with lawmakers ousting Reps. Justin Jones and Justin Pearson, who are both Black, while Rep. Gloria Johnson, who is white, survived the vote on her expulsion. Republican lawmakers, meanwhile, are also pushing forward on a proposed bill that would keep Johnson from appearing on the ballot multiple times for different offices in one election.
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They would also need to clear a background check and undergo 40 hours of handgun training. Her censure is reminiscent of the Republican-controlled Tennessee state House of Representatives expulsion of two Democratic lawmakers in what marked the first partisan expulsion in the state's modern history. Zephyr said, "When the speaker asks me to apologize ... on behalf of decorum, what he's really asking me to do is be silent when my community is facing bills that get us killed."
Council member urges colleagues to not play political games and “place Justin Jones back in his rightful place”
Expulsion resolution sponsor Rep. Andrew Farmer, R-Sevierville, asked Pearson about a letter he sent on Monday to every House member in which he took “full responsibility and accountability” for his actions. Pearson acknowledged responsibility, and said his goal was to bring attention to the issue of gun violence. Justin Jones said the expulsion was not a silencing of them as individuals, rather the silencing of an entire movement.“We’ll see you on Monday,” he said, referencing the special meeting already called by Metro Council to appoint an interim Representative. The trio has demurred this week on future plans, instead choosing to focus on the upcoming expulsion vote. Johnson on Monday indicated she was consulting with lawyers, though one attorney said pursuing a lawsuit could be an uphill battle given as the state Constitution gives the legislature express authority to discipline and expel its own members. "Rep. Jones represents thousands of people in this state whose voices have been silenced time and time and time again," she said.
In a subsequent tweet, she clarified, "Yes, it was my megaphone no, @VoteGloriaJ & @brotherjones never used it." Pearson also said the body should do more to educate new members on rules of decorum. During his remarks, Pearson referenced the names of the six Covenant victims several times, but repeatedly mispronounced the name of 9-year-old Hallie Scruggs. It wasn’t walking up to the well, it wasn’t being disruptive to the status quo, it was the silencing of democracy and it’s wrong,” Pearson said. Jones accused Bulso of calling him a "damned disgrace" in a private moment earlier this week.
In addition to that, Seifter said, "politically motivated expulsions are likely to be unpopular and mobilize opponents." "Unlike other ways that state legislators may entrench their power or act in a countermajoritarian fashion (a pattern I've written about here), disciplinary actions are typically self-limiting," she added. It's especially rare for a legislature to expel members over actions relating to substantive policy disagreements.
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