Following a shooting inside an elementary school in Nashville that killed 6 people, numerous students came to the House of Representatives to demand stricter gun laws. During this protest Reps. Justin Jones, Justin Pearson and Gloria Johnson led chants through a megaphone.
This action was immediately criticised by republican lawmakers for disrupting order and breaking procedural rules in the chamber.
The three democrats conceded they broke protocol by not speaking without being formally recognized. They claim to have done this to amplify the voices of protesters and their constituents.
Thereafter the Republican-led House initiated a vote to expel the trio, whom supporters call “The Tennessee Three”. During this vote loud protests could be heard inside the room.
On Thursday afternoon Reps. Justin Jones and Justin Pearson were both removed from the body. The votes were 72 - 25 and 69 - 26 respectively and fell along party lines. Together, they represent a combined constituency of about 130,000 people. Gloria Johnson escaped expulsion by one single vote 65 - 30. However she had already been stripped of her committee assignments.
When asked by reporters if she thought there was a reason she’d had a different outcome. She stated: “I’ll answer your question. It might have to do with the colour of our skin.” Both Pearson and Jones are Black men while Johnson is a white woman.”
Before he was ousted Representative Justin Jones addressed the floor. “The world is watching Tennessee, what is happening here today is a farce of democracy.”
Pearson told a Nashvillian radio station “This is another example of the erosion of democracy because we spoke up for gun reform.”
The district will now hold special elections to fill the two vacant house seats.
