The local officials are going to take expelled Tennessee lawmakers back to state House

Rep. Jones to the State Assembly: Reheating After a Demonstration and Rep. Gloria Johnson’s Procedural Action

It may be possible for former Reps. Jones of Nashville and Pearson of Memphis to return to their posts in the Tennessee state legislature on a temporary basis.

The two former Democratic lawmakers were expelled from Congress after staging a protest on the floor of the house in favor of gun law reforms.

Republicans forced out two of their caucus members, who are both Black, in a two-thirds majority vote Thursday after they had participated in a gun control demonstration on the House floor. Rep. Gloria Johnson, a White woman and Democrat who also participated in the demonstration, survived the vote and held on to her seat in the GOP-dominated chamber.

130,000 Black voters won’t be getting representation in the House. Rep. Gloria Johnson, D-Knoxville, who is white and also led the protest, survived expulsion by one vote.

“This attack against us is hurting all people in our state,” he added. “Even though it is disproportionately impacting Black and brown communities, this is hurting poor white people … silencing them.”

The Nashville Metropolitan Council will meet in the shadow of the Capitol at 4:30 pm to discuss appointing Jones as the interim representative for House District 52.

“I’m confident that we do have the votes to return him back to his seat,” Council Member Kyonzte Toombs told CNN. She said if two council members vote against suspending the procedural rule, the final vote could be delayed and Jones could be appointed to the interim position.

After the council appoints an interim House representative nominee, the county will hold a special election — in which Jones is eligible to run — to carry out the term.

Mickell Lowery called a meeting on Wednesday afternoon for a vote to re-elect Mr. Pearson to represent the citizens in District 86.

The Memphis Commercial Appeal reported that Commissioner Emery Sugarmon thinks the former lawmaker has enough support to be reappointed.

The Tennessee House of Representatives Expelled Monday after the Elementary Shooting in Nashville, Sept. 12, 2018: A Democrat-Leading Vote

The expulsion of two Democratic state representatives by Tennessee’s Legislature caused protesters to assemble at the Capitol on Monday to protest the possibility of sending one of them back to the chamber.

A Government Operations Committee meeting and an Appropriations Subcommittee meeting will be held on Monday, when the Tennessee House will be back in session.

“If two people object, we are back on the basic rule … which says we have to wait four weeks. But, if we don’t get that many objections, then we can suspend the rules … and we can vote tonight,” said Shulman. The council will vote to send Jones back to Tennessee if we do that.

As the state and local officials hold meetings Monday, protesters are planning a day of action that includes a rally before the Metro Council meeting then a march to the state Capitol.

The expulsions and expected protest are part of the long-standing debate over the accessibility of guns in America, with this latest standoff spurred by the mass shooting last month at a Nashville Christian school that left six people dead, including three 9-year-old children.

In the wake of that shooting, Jones, Pearson and Johnson took to the state House floor to advocate for gun control, using a bullhorn to address their colleagues and protesters.

Republicans accused the trio of “knowingly and intentionally” bringing “disorder and dishonor to the House of Representatives” without being recognized to speak, CNN affiliate WSMV reported. Republicans held a party-line vote on Thursday to oust Jones and Pearson.

“The Republican-led supermajority of the Tennessee General Assembly sought to have a political lynching of three of its members because we spoke out of turn against the status quo of the government, after the tragic deaths of six people in the shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville,” he said.

“I believe the expulsion of State Representative Justin Pearson was conducted in a hasty manner without consideration of other corrective action methods,” Lowery said in a statement.

Source: https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/10/us/tennessee-democrat-house-representatives-expelled-monday/index.html

Tennessee Senate Democratic House Representatives Expelled Monday after the November 2024 Voting Decree under Biden’s Defamation

In November 2024, there will be a special election for the seats since the next general election is 12 months away.

A writ of election must be scheduled within 55 to 60 days according to state code. And a general election to fill the vacancy must be scheduled within 100 to 107 days.

According to Tennessee law, a state representative must be at least 21 years old, a US citizen, a resident of the state for at least three years and a resident of their county for one year preceding the election.

Over the course of 157 years, there have been two expulsions in the state House. The last expulsion in the state House was in 2016 when a person was kicked out over sexual harassment allegations. In 1980, a representative was expelled after a member was found guilty of accepting a bribe while in office.

The vote from the state’s Republican supermajority to oust lawmakers was not viewed favorably by scores of high profile officials.

The expulsions were decried by President Joe Biden as shocking and undemocratic, and he criticized Republicans for not taking more action on gun reform.

Source: https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/10/us/tennessee-democrat-house-representatives-expelled-monday/index.html

Kamala Harris meets with the House Judiciary Committee to Lobby for Background Checks in the Nashville Shooting Room – a First Look

Vice President Kamala Harris traveled to Nashville on Friday to advocate for stricter gun control measures and highlight the importance of protecting Americans from gun violence. She met with the other people privately.

“We understand when we took an oath to represent the people who elected us that we speak on behalf of them. It wasn’t about the three of these leaders,” Harris said in remarks after the meeting. “It was about who they were representing. It’s about whose voices they were channeling. Understand that – and is that not what a democracy allows?”