How Reply Can Former Reps. Jones and Pearson Reapply to the Tennessee Legislature? A Comment on ‘What happened when we expelled two young black lawmakers from the state legislature’
The suspension of local meetings may allow the return of former Reps. Jones and Pearson to their seats in the state legislature.
The two former Democratic lawmakers, who were expelled by Republican colleagues after they staged a protest on the House floor calling for gun law reforms, say they want their seats back.
“What happened was a travesty of democracy because they expelled the two youngest Black lawmakers, which is no coincidence from the Tennessee Legislature,” Jones said Friday on “CNN This Morning.” “Because we are outspoken, because we fight for our district.”
130,000 voters from heavily Black districts are without 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.”
Less than a mile away, in the shadow of the Capitol, the Nashville Metropolitan Council will meet at 4:30 p.m. to discuss nominating and appointing Jones as the interim representative for his now-vacant House District 52 seat.
Council Member Toombs told CNN that he was confident they could return him to his seat. But, she noted, if two council members vote against suspending a procedural rule to allow the nomination and appointment at the same meeting, the final vote to appoint Jones to the interim position could be delayed.
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.
Chairman Mickell Lowery announced he was calling a special meeting on Wednesday afternoon to “consider the action to reappoint Mr. Justin Pearson to his duly elected position to represent the citizens in District 86,” local station Action News 5 reported.
Chances appear to favor Pearson’s return: Commissioner Erika Sugarmon told the Memphis Commercial Appeal that the former lawmaker has enough supporters sitting in the commission, which has a Democratic supermajority, to get him successfully reappointed.
Demonstrators are planning a day of action to protest the state house expulsion of three state legislators and the case for a shooting in Nashville
Demonstrators are expected at the Tennessee Capitol on Monday to protest the expulsion of two Democratic state representatives as officials in Nashville are set to consider sending one of them back to the chamber.
The Tennessee House will have a meeting on the Appropriations Subcommittee and a meeting on the Government Operations Committee during its Monday session.
“If two people object, we are back on the basic rule … which says we have to wait four weeks. If we don’t get many objections, the rules can be suspended and we can vote tonight. “And my guess is, if we do that, the council will vote to send Rep. Justin Jones right back to the Tennessee State House.”
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.
According to Jones, the microphones on his and the other lawmakers’ mics were cut off when they spoke about guns on the House floor.
The three congressmen who demonstrated last Thursday broke many rules of decorum and procedure on the House floor according to the Speaker.
He said that the Republican-led supermajority in the Tennessee General Assembly wanted to have three of their members lynching after they spoke out against the status quo.
Lowery said he believed the expulsion of State Representative Pearson was done quickly without considering other corrective action methods.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/10/us/tennessee-democrat-house-representatives-expelled-monday/index.html
Tennessee House Representatives have been Expelled Monday, and a Republican Supermajority Vote is Shocking, Undemocratic and Without precedent
According to the Tennessee Constitution, since the next general election is more than 12 months away, in November 2024, a special election will be held to fill the seats.
It is required to have a writ of election within 55 to 60 days, according to the 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.
Two people have been kicked out of the state House over the course of 157 years. The last expulsion in the state House was in 2016, when a representative was expelled over allegations of sexual harassment. A member of the assembly was expelled in 1980 after he was convicted of taking a bribe.
Expelling lawmakers is quite rare in Tennessee, and last week’s vote from the state’s Republican supermajority has drawn reactions from scores of high profile officials.
On Thursday, President Joe Biden called the expulsions “shocking, undemocratic and without precedent” while criticizing Republicans for not taking greater action on gun reform.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/10/us/tennessee-democrat-house-representatives-expelled-monday/index.html
The Voice of the Three Speakers: The Vice President and the Role of the Jones-Pearson and Johnson in Protecting the Right Against Gun Violence
On Friday, the Vice President traveled to Nashville to advocate for gun control and highlight the importance of protecting Americans from gun violence. She also privately met with Jones, Pearson and Johnson.
We understand that when we take an oath to represent the people who elected us, we speak on their behalf. It wasn’t about the three of these leaders,” Harris said in remarks after the meeting. They were representing who. It’s about whose voices they were channeling. Understand that – and is that not what a democracy allows?”