Tennessee House Votes to Expel 2 Lawmakers Over Gun Control Protest
AllSides Summary
Tennessee's House of Representatives voted Thursday to expel two of the three Democratic lawmakers who broke House rules by staging a gun control protest on the chamber's floor last week.
The Details: Reps. Justin Jones and Justin Pearson were expelled by votes of 72 to 25 and 69 to 26, respectively. A vote to expel Rep. Gloria Johnson failed by one vote. The three led a gun reform protest last week after six people were killed in the Nashville Covenant School shooting on Mar. 27. Protesters entered the House chamber, chanting and blocking doorways. At one point, Jones and Rep. Justin Lafferty (R) got into a scuffle, leading Jones to accuse Lafferty of assault.
Key Quotes: Johnson suggested the fact that she wasn't expelled while Jones and Pearson were "might have to do with the color of our skin." Johnson is white, and Jones and Pearson are black. "What they did is they hijacked the House floor which has never been done in our history," House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R) said.
For Context: Such an expulsion is relatively rare, according to sources across the spectrum. Tennessee's House is composed of 73 Republicans and 26 Democrats.
How the Media Covered It: Some left-rated sources emphasized the fact that the two expelled lawmakers are black, and focused more on critics of the move who suggested it was racially motivated. Some right-rated sources focused more on the House's reasoning for expelling the duo, and the details of the protest.
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Right
Tennessee House Votes to Expel Two of Three Democrats Involved in Gun-Control Protest
Tennessee’s Republican-led House voted Thursday to expel state Representatives Justin Jones and Justin Pearson, two of the three Democratic lawmakers who staged demonstrations on the House floor last week to call for gun control. A vote to expel state Representative Gloria Johnson, who was also involved in the protest, failed by one vote.
Jones was expelled by a vote of 72 to 25, while the House voted 69 to 26 to expel Pearson.
Before Pearson’s ousting, Johnson, who is white, suggested to reporters that the reason she was spared expulsion while Jones,...
From the Left
Tennessee House GOP expels 2 Democrats in retaliation over gun control protest. Here’s what we know and what comes next
Two Democratic members of the Tennessee House of Representatives have been expelled while a third member was spared in an ousting by Republican lawmakers that was decried by the trio as oppressive, vindictive and racially motivated.
Protesters packed the state Capitol on Thursday to denounce the expulsions of Reps. Justin Jones and Rep. Justin Pearson and to advocate for gun reform measures a little over a week after a mass shooting devastated a Nashville school.
Speaking to CNN’s Don Lemon on “CNN This Morning,” Jones decried the actions of House Republicans. “What happened...
From the Center
GOP expels Democratic Reps. Justin Jones, Justin Pearson from House over gun-control protest
Ten days after a shooter unloaded 152 rounds inside a Nashville school and killed six people, Tennessee House Republicans on Thursday expelled two Democratic lawmakers for breaking House rules and mounting a gun-reform protest on the chamber's floor.
After hours of fiery debate, the House expelled Reps. Justin Jones, D-Nashville, on a 72-25 vote, and Rep. Justin Pearson, D-Memphis, by 69-26, in a move that put the nation's eyes on Tennessee and its politics.
But the House failed by one vote to achieve the two-thirds majority needed to kick Rep. Gloria...
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