Global Courant 2023-04-13 10:31:58
The second of two black Democrats ousted from the Republican-led Tennessee House will follow his colleague in a return to the legislature
By means ofJONATHAN MATTISE Associate Press
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The second of two black Democrats ousted from the Republican-led Tennessee House will follow his colleague in a return to the Capitol on Thursday, a week after their exile for a House floor gun control protest that thrust them into the national spotlight. brought .
Easily reappointed to his position by Shelby County Commissioners on Wednesday, Justin Pearson gave a speech like a fiery pastor to a crowd of jubilant supporters outside at a church celebration. The Memphis legislator plans to be sworn in outside the Capitol on Thursday before returning for the House session that morning.
Republicans have Pearson and Rep. Justin Jones was evicted last week for their role in a gun control protest on the House floor following a shooting at a Nashville school that killed three children and three adults.
The appointments are interim and special elections for the seats will take place in the coming months. Jones and Pearson have said they intend to flee.
The House vote to remove Pearson and Jones but white Rep. Gloria Johnson led to accusations of racism. Johnson survived by one vote. However, the Republican leadership denied that race was a factor, noting that Johnson’s role in the protest was not accompanied by some of the steps Jones and Pearson took, including speaking into a megaphone.
On Monday, the Nashville Metropolitan Council took just a few minutes to unanimously restore Jones to office. He was quickly restored to his seat in the House the same day.
Last Thursday’s evictions made Tennessee a new front in the battle for the future of American democracy. In the space of a few days, the two raised thousands of campaign dollars, and the Tennessee Democratic Party received another jolt of support from across the US.
Political tensions rose as Pearson, Johnson and Jones, from the House floor, joined hundreds of protesters who filled the Capitol last month to call for gun control measures to be passed.
As protesters filled the galleries, lawmakers approached the front of the House chamber with a megaphone and joined in a chant. The scene took place days after the shooting at Covenant School, a private Christian school. Their participation from the front of the room violated house rules because the three did not have permission from the speaker of the house.
In Tennessee, Republican lawmakers favored the idea of strengthening school safety rather than tackling gun control as they prepare to wrap up their work in the coming weeks.
Republican Gov. Bill Lee has avoided commenting on the lawmakers’ eviction, saying instead that the controversy was a matter that concerned the House. He has since called on the General Assembly to pass legislation preventing dangerous people from acquiring guns.
