The Republican-led Tennessee House passed two of three resolutions on Thursday ousting a pair of Democratic lawmakers from the state chamber who were considered for expulsion after they protested in favor of gun control on the floor.
Each representative was considered individually with three nearly identical bills: HR 65 targeting Justin Jones; HR 64 considered Gloria Johnson; and HR 63 listed Justin Pearson. Both HR 65 and HR 63 cleared the chamber, with a 72-25 and 69-26 vote, respectively; however, HR 64 failed with a 65-30 vote.
HR 64 failed despite the majority because the Yays failed to secure the two-thirds majority needed to expel a member of the House. Expulsion in the lower chamber requires a two-thirds majority vote by House members, of which Republican lawmakers control 75 out of 99 seats.
Prior to the vote for HR 65, which came first, Democratic representatives complained that not everyone who was on the list to speak and debate the issue was allowed to do so.
The gallery erupted when the vote for HR 65 passed, causing Speaker Cameron Sexton to warn the gallery that the room would be cleared of everyone but the press if the disruption continued.
Tennessee State Rep Justin J Pearson
© Tennessee House of Representatives
Johnson, who is white while Jones and Pearson are Black, survived the expulsion in part because she denied multiple of the accusations in HR 64. Johnson claimed she did not yell, did not bang on the table and did not bring in the megaphone as the resolution alleged. She noted the resolution was specifically concerning her actions, but focused on the collective actions of the three representatives.
Republicans say the actions amounted to an insurrection and mutiny. Democrats counter that they had been silenced by the House speaker, and that expulsion is an excessive punishment for breaking decorum. Officials have also complained that the incident delayed proceedings for nearly an hour. Johnson, a retired school teacher, said during her comments that the disturbance lasted around seven minutes.
“My voters sent me here to speak specifically to that issue [of gun violence] because that was one of the things I heard on thousands of doorsteps for a year,” Johnson said. “I did what I was compelled to do based on speaking for the voters in my district who were begging me to bring this issue forward.”
The protest was in response to the state legislature’s inaction on gun violence following the Nashville elementary school shooting that left six people dead, including three 9-year-old children.
The representatives were allowed to bring their lawyers to the hearings, but they were not allowed to answer questions, a rule that surprised some Democrats.
The three lawmakers argued before the legislative body that the House speaker immediately called for recess when they entered the floor. While they admitted that they broke a House rule on decorum when they walked into the Well without being called, officials noted their actions after that were not during an active session and could not have broken any House rules. Lawmakers further stated that members regularly walk into the Well without permission and aren’t punished.
Multiple Democrats defending the lawmakers also pointed out that far worse incidents have happened in the state legislature, including physical confrontations described as “first fights,” without members being punished.
Jones also accused the super-majority holding Republicans of consistently preventing Democratic lawmakers from speaking during legislative sessions and noted that the only reason everyone was being given an opportunity to speak on Thursday was because media outlets were present. Pearson would later repeat that accusation.
Jones further claimed that on March 30, when he left his seat to speak to the protesters, he came back to find his computer off and he was unable to vote - something he had not seen before.
Former Rep. Justin Jones, D-Nashville, sits in the gallery of the House chamber after being expelled from the legislature on Thursday, April 6, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn. Tennessee Republicans are seeking to oust three House Democrats including Jones for using a bullhorn to shout support for pro-gun control protesters in the House chamber.
© AP Photo / George Walker IV
Responding to Republican Rep. Gino Bulso from Brentwood, who said that Jones wanted to be expelled because he showed “no remorse” for his actions, Jones responded that his real crime was challenging the governing body.
“While my colleague’s statement was eloquent, what he was essentially saying was that Justin is an uppity negro. How dare he point at the speaker and call a lie a lie? How dare he act like he is your equal, how dare he come before this body and not bow down?”
Article II, Section 12 of the Tennessee Constitution states that the House can “punish members for disorderly behavior” and that members can be expelled with a two-thirds majority. The members of the ‘Tennessee Three’ have already been stripped of their committee assignments.
In the case of the seats held by Jones and Pearson, a special election is anticipated since their posts are now considered vacant and it is more than 12 months before the start of the next election cycle. The county commission can also appoint a representative until the special race is held.
Nothing in the constitution prevents the representatives from running in the special election or being appointed as the temporary representative by the county commission.
Rep. Gloria Johnson, D-Knoxville, receives a hug from Rep. John Ray Clemmons, D-Nashville, on the floor of the House chamber after a resolution to expel Johnson from the legislature failed on Thursday, April 6, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn. Tennessee Republicans were seeking to oust three House Democrats including Johnson for using a bullhorn to shout support for pro-gun control protesters in the House chamber.
© AP Photo / George Walker IV
During his opening statement, Pearson pointed out that the House rules do not call for the expulsion of members who break the House rules. According to Pearson, section 19 of rule 19 of the permanent House rules of the 113th General Assembly states: “Such members [who broke House Rules and would not sit down after being called or order by the Speaker] shall be liable to censure of the House,” and not expulsion.
“[Our] real offense is not what we did, but in breaking decorum, we asserted our humanity,” Jones said while responding to Bulso. “We asserted the voices and humanity of our districts, we asserted our dignity as equal members of this body who you’d rather have silenced, who you’d rather have not here, who you would rather have back somewhere else instead of up here as your equal.”
US President Joe Biden criticized the expulsions on Twitter, calling the process undemocratic.
State Rep. Andrew Farmer, who authored the resolutions, said that Pearson and his colleagues were seeking attention with their actions.
“Just because you don’t get your way, you can’t come to the Well, bring your friends, and throw a temper tantrum with an adolescent bullhorn … That's why you are standing there, because of that temper tantrum that day. For that yearning to have attention. That's what you wanted. Well, you are getting it now.”
Pearson responded by asking if the protesters outside were throwing a temper tantrum. Earlier, during his opening remarks, he said that the country was built on people who spoke out of turn.
“You who celebrate July 4th, 1776, pop fireworks and eat hot dogs,” Pearson said addressing the legislative bodies. “You say to protest is wrong because you spoke out of turn, because you spoke up for people who are marginalized, you spoke up for children who will never speak again, you spoke up for parents who don’t want to live in fear, you spoke up for Larry Thorn who was murdered by gun violence. You spoke up for people we don’t want to care about. In a country built by people who spoke out of turn, who fought out of turn to build a nation.”
Pearson said in his closing statement that he will not quit, just as his people never quit. The fiery speech brought loud cheers from the crowd, causing Speaker Sexton to again chastise the gallery and call for order.
"We have good news that Sunday always comes. Resurrection is a promise and a prophecy. It is a prophecy that came out of the cotton fields. It's a prophecy that came out of the lynching tree. It is a prophecy that still lives in each and everyone of us in order to make the state of Tennessee the place that it ought to be. So I still have hope because I know we are still here and we will never quit."
Chants rained from the gallery until recess was called until Monday.