“We called for you all to ban assault weapons, and you respond with an assault on democracy.”
Tennessee State Rep. Justin Jones (D) defended himself Thursday evening ahead of a vote, 72-25, to expel him and two other members from the state House, Justin Pearson and Gloria Johnson. Republicans, who hold a supermajority in the state House, held votes to expel the Democrats for protesting gun violence on the House floor last week following the Nashville school mass shooting. Jones, who used a bullhorn as part of his protest, warned the state was sending a dangerous message to the rest of the country about democracy.
The vote to oust Johnson failed 65-30 - one vote shy of the two-thirds of the chamber needed to expel a member - but Pearson was expelled by a vote of 69-26. Both Jones and Pearson are Black, while Johnson is white.
Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R) said the Democrats broke “several rules of decorum and procedure on the House floor.”
Before Thursday, the Tennessee House had expelled only two legislators since the Civil War.
#tennessee #politics #politicalnews
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