Historic ousting of Black TN Dems demands nation's full atte

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Historic ousting of Black TN Dems demands nation's full attention
by Lawrence O'Donnell
MSNBC
Apr 6, 2023 #MSNBC #Tennessee #Republicans

The Tennessee Republican legislature has a lot to be ashamed for, including expelling Justin Jones and Justin Pearson, two Black members of the Tennessee House of Representatives. MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell explains why the people being attacked are winning even when it looks like they are losing.



Transcript

>> WE HAVE A STATEMENT FROM
PRESIDENT BIDEN ON THE
SITUATION IN TENNESSEE TONIGHT
IT WAS JUST RELEASED BY THE
WHITE HOUSE.
THE PRESIDENT SAID A STATE
REPUBLICAN LAWMAKERS CALLED
VOTES TODAY TO EXPEL THREE
DEMOCRATIC LEGISLATORS WHO
STOOD IN SOLIDARITY WITH THE
STUDENTS AND FAMILIES AND
HELPED LIFT THEIR VOICES
TODAY'S EXPULSION OF LAWMAKERS
WHO ENGAGED IN PEACEFUL PROTEST
IS SHOCKING, UNDEMOCRATIC, AND
WITHOUT PRECEDENT.
RATHER THAN A DEBATING THE
MERITS OF THE ISSUE OF, THESE
REPUBLICAN LAWMAKERS HAVE
CHOSEN TO PUNISH, SILENCE, AND
EXPEL ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES
OF THE PEOPLE OF TENNESSEE
WE HAD PLANNED TO COVER SEVERAL
STORIES FOR YOU IN THIS HOUR
INCLUDING THE LATEST NEWS ABOUT
THE APPARENT CORRUPTION AND
ETHICAL RULE BREAKING BY
SUPREME COURT JUSTICE CLARENCE
THOMAS AND HIS FAILURE TO
DISCLOSE SEVERAL HUNDRED
THOUSAND DOLLARS WORTH OF
PRIVATE JET TRAVEL AND OTHER
GIFTS FROM A WEALTHY REPUBLICAN
POLITICAL DONOR.
AS YOU JUST HEARD FROM THE
PRESIDENT, HISTORY HAPPENS
TODAY AND TONIGHT IN TENNESSEE
HISTORY WHICH DEMANDS THE FULL
ATTENTION OF THIS COUNTRY RIGHT
NOW TONIGHT.
THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT
THING THAT HAS HAPPENED IN THIS
COUNTRY THIS WEEK, THIS MONTH,
THIS YEAR.
IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO EXAGGERATE
THE HISTORIC IMPORTANCE TO ALL
OF US OF WHAT HAPPENED TONIGHT
IN TENNESSEE
THE SENIOR MEMBERS OF OUR
AUDIENCE HAVE LIVED THROUGH
HISTORY LIKE THIS BEFORE
THEY HAVE HAD THIS FEELING
BEFORE
THE YOUNGEST MEMBERS OF OUR
AUDIENCE MIGHT NOT BE SO
FAMILIAR WITH IT
IF YOU ARE OLD ENOUGH TO
REMEMBER THE DAY THAT THIS
HAPPENED, DURING THE 1960S WHEN
THE SOUTHERN STATES WERE TRYING
TO ENFORCE THEIR VERSION OF
POST CIVIL WAR APARTHEID, YOU
HAVE HAD THIS FEELING BEFORE
IF YOU REMEMBER THIS ENOUGH
STUDENTS TRYING TO INTEGRATE A
LUNCH COUNTER AND BIRMINGHAM
ALABAMA, YOU HAVE HAD THIS
FEELING BEFORE
THE PEOPLE WHO SAW THOSE IMAGES
AND THE NEWS COVERAGE OF THOSE
DAYS HAVE NEVER FORGOTTEN THEM
FOR THE REST OF THEIR LIVES, SO
IT WILL BE FOR THE PEOPLE WHO
WATCHED WHAT HAPPENED IN THE
TENNESSEE LEGISLATURE TONIGHT.
WHAT NO ONE KNEW IN THE 1960S
WHEN THOSE IMAGES OF VICIOUS
ABUSE OF BLACK PEOPLE WERE ON
TV NEWS AND IN OUR NEWSPAPERS
IS WHO WAS WINNING
WHO WAS WINNING?
IT LOOKED LIKE EVIL WAS WINNING
EVERY DAY THAT THE AMERICAN
NEWS MEDIA WERE FILLED WITH
VICIOUS AND VIOLENT ABUSE OF
PEOPLE FIGHTING AGAINST
SEGREGATION AND OPPRESSION IN
THE SOUTH.
WHAT WE COULD NOT KNOW THEN AND
WHAT WE COULD NOT SEE IN THE
IMAGES IS THAT THE PEOPLE BEING
ATTACKED WERE ACTUALLY WINNING
THE PEOPLE BEING ATTACKED WERE
WINNING EVENTUALLY THE RIGHT TO
VOTE
THE PEOPLE BEING ATTACKED WERE
WINNING EVENTUALLY IN THE RIGHT
TO HOLD ELECTIVE OFFICE
THEMSELVES
JOHN LEWIS WENT FROM BEING
BEATEN NEARLY TO DEATH AND
CELLMATE TO BEING ONE OF THE
MOST POWERFUL MEMBERS OF THE
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
THE PEOPLE BEING ATTACKED WERE
WINNING.
EVEN WHAT IT LOOKED LIKE THE
WERE LOSING, THE PEOPLE BEING
ATTACKED WOULD GO ON TO DECIDE
THE OUTCOMES IN PRESIDENTIAL
ELECTIONS.
TONIGHT IS A NIGHT FOR THE
CHILDREN OF AMERICA TO WATCH
WHAT HAPPENED IN TENNESSEE
CHILDREN OF ALL AGES
THIS IS NOT JUST A PART OF
HISTORY THEY NEED TO KNOW.
THIS IS THE HISTORY THAT
AMERICAN CHILDREN ARE CURRENTLY
LIVING THROUGH THEMSELVES.
I WAS A LITTLE BOY GROWING UP
IN SEGREGATED BOSTON WATCHING
THOSE PEOPLE BEING ATTACKED IN
THE 1960S FOR TRYING TO BREAK
THE LOCK OF SEGREGATION.
SEEING THAT TAUGHT ME AS A
LITTLE BOY ABOUT THE
SEGREGATION OF THE CITY THAT I
LIVED IN
SEEING THAT VIOLENCE AND HATRED
AND POISON AND EVIL OPEN MY
EYES TO THE JUSTICE WE SHOULD
ALL ASPIRE TO WHEN I WAS IN
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.
I WAS THE SAME AGE AS THE THREE
CHILDREN SHOT AND MURDERED IN
OTHER SCHOOL IN NASHVILLE, THE
SHOOTING THAT PROVOKED WHAT
HAPPENED TONIGHT IN TENNESSEE.
THAT IS WHAT THIS HISTORY
MAKING SCENE IN TENNESSEE AND
THE LEGISLATURE WAS ALL ABOUT.
IT WAS ABOUT THE LIFE AND DEATH
OF CHILDREN IN AMERICA
IT WAS ABOUT THOSE DEAD
CHILDREN AND WHO WAS TRYING TO
PROTECT THE CHILDREN IN
TENNESSEE AND WHO ISN'T.
WHEN YOU ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF
LIVING HISTORY LIKE THIS, YOU
OWE IT TO YOURSELF TO STOP WHAT
YOU ARE DOING, TO STOP WHAT YOU
ARE THINKING AND PAY ATTENTION
TO THAT HISTORY AND ALLOW
YOURSELF TO FEEL THAT HISTORY
BECAUSE IT IS THE FEELINGS THAT
YOU OPEN YOURSELF TO IN
HISTORIC OUTBURSTS OF UNIQUELY
AMERICAN EVIL LIKE THIS THAT
WILL GUIDE YOU IN HOW YOU THINK
AND FEEL ABOUT JUSTICE FOR THE
REST OF YOUR LIFE.
THERE IS NO AGE TOO YOUNG TO BE
EXPOSED TO THE HISTORY MADE IN
TENNESSEE TONIGHT BECAUSE THERE
IS NO AGE TOO YOUNG IN THIS
COUNTRY FOR A CHILD'S HEAD TO
BE BLOWN OFF BY AN AR-15 IN AN
AMERICAN CLASSROOM
IT HAS HAPPENED IN
KINDERGARTENS!
IT IS NEVER TOO LATE IN LIFE TO
OPEN YOUR HEART IN MOMENTS OF
STUNNING MORAL CLARITY, THE
KIND THAT AMERICA FACES
TONIGHT.
TENNESSEE HAS MUCH TO BE
ASHAMED OF IN ITS HISTORY.
THE TENNESSEE LEGISLATURE
HOUSED IN A BUILDING BUILT BY
SLAVES HAS HUNDREDS OF YEARS OF
SHAME IN ITS HISTORY
THE TENNESSEE LEGISLATURE NEVER
EXPELLED A SINGLE MEMBER OF THE
KU KLUX KLAN FROM THAT
LEGISLATURE.
THE TENNESSEE LEGISLATURE NEVER
DID ANYTHING ABOUT THE HUNDREDS
OF LYNCHINGS OF BLACK PEOPLE
THAT OCCURRED IN THE STATE OF
TENNESSEE.
THEY NEVER DID A THING ABOUT
THAT
WHEN YOU HAVE A HISTORY LIKE
TENNESSEE'S, YOUR STATE HAS AN
OBLIGATION TO TRY HARDER
THE STATE OF TENNESSEE AS A
STATE OFFICIALLY COMMITTED
TREASON AGAINST THE UNITED
STATES OF AMERICA.
THE STATE OF TENNESSEE WAGED
WAR AGAINST UNITED STATES OF
AMERICA.
THERE IS A LOT TO BE ASHAMED OF
IN THE HISTORY OF THE STATE OF
TENNESSEE.
THE STATE OF TENNESSEE WAS
NEVER GOING TO END SLAVERY
THE STATE OF TENNESSEE WAS
NEVER GOING TO ALLOW BLACK
PEOPLE TO VOTE
IT TOOK THE UNITED STATES OF
AMERICA TO FORCE THE STATE OF
TENNESSEE TO DO THOSE THINGS AT
GUNPOINT
IN A STATE WHERE GUN VIOLENCE
CHANGED THE COURSE OF AMERICAN
HISTORY, TENNESSEE OWES THIS
COUNTRY PROOF THAT IT IS TRYING
HARDER
TENNESSEE, A STATE WHERE THE
REVERENT DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING
JUNIOR WAS ASSASSINATED AND
CHANGE THE COURSE OF HISTORY
TENNESSEE TOOK ITS PLACE AGAIN
TONIGHT IN DELIVERING POLITICAL
ASSASSINATIONS TO TWO BLACK
MEMBERS OF THE TENNESSEE
LEGISLATURE WELL AT THE VERY
SAME TIME THEY VOTED NOT TO
PUNISH IN ANY WAY A WHITE
MEMBER OF THE LEGISLATURE FOR
DOING EXACTLY, EXACTLY WHAT THE
TWO BLACK MEMBERS DID.
THE RACISTS IN THE TENNESSEE
LEGISLATURE COULD NOT HAVE
SCREAMED THEIR HATRED MORE
LOUDLY AND CLEARLY THAN THEY
DID WITH THEIR SILENT
COWARDLY VOTES
I WAS VERY LUCKY WHEN I WAS A
LITTLE KID WATCHING TELEVISION
NEWS AND HAVING MARTIN LUTHER
KING EXPLAIN TO ME WHAT I WAS
SEEING IN THE NEWS FOOTAGE FROM
ALABAMA AND ELSEWHERE.
WE WERE LUCKY TO HAVE MARTIN
LUTHER KING GUIDING US THROUGH
THAT PERIOD.
AMERICA IS LUCKY TONIGHT
THE PEOPLE, THE RACIST
REPUBLICAN TENNESSEE
LEGISLATURE, ATTACKED AND
EXPELLED ARE THE MOST NOBLE AND
WISE GUIDES WE COULD POSSIBLY
HAVE TO THE HISTORY THAT
UNFOLDED IN TENNESSEE TONIGHT.
THE REPUBLICAN WHO SPONSORED
THE RESOLUTION TO EXPEL THREE
DEMOCRATIC MEMBERS OF THE
TENNESSEE HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES FOR ENGAGING IN
A PROTEST ON THE HOUSE FLOOR
BECAUSE THEY WERE NOT BEING
HEARD BY THE LEGISLATURE ABOUT
THE MURDERS IN THE LATEST
SCHOOL SHOOTING IN TENNESSEE
THE SPONSOR OF THE RESOLUTION
TO EXPEL THOSE MEMBERS EXPOSED
HIMSELF TONIGHT, FULLY EXPOSED
HIMSELF TONIGHT.
HE EXPOSED HIMSELF FOR BEING
THE 21ST CENTURY VERSION OF
BULL CONNOR THAT HE REALLY IS.
TONIGHT, THE SPIRITUAL AIR OF
THE BULL CONNOR OPPRESSIVE
SPIRIT IN THE TENNESSEE
LEGISLATURE THE, PUBLIC AND
REPRESENTATIVE ANDREW FARMER
POKED HIS FINGER THAT HE
APPARENTLY BELIEVES IS FULL OF
WHITE SUPERIORITY.
HE POINTED IT AT THE HONORABLE
NOW FORMER MEMBER OF THE
TENNESSEE HOUSE JUSTIN PEARSON
>> AS I AM LISTENING, I'M
THINKING TO MYSELF, YOU DON'T
UNDERSTAND
YOU TRULY DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY
YOU ARE STANDING THERE TODAY
YOU DON'T REALLY UNDERSTAND WHY
I AUTHOR THAT RESOLUTION
IT WAS NOT AN EASY THING FOR ME
TO DO.
I'M HEARING YOU BLAME THIS ON
YOUR YOUTH
JUST BECAUSE YOU DON'T GET YOUR
WAY, YOU GRAB A COUPLE FRIENDS
THAT DOESN'T MEAN YOU CAN COME
TO THE WELL WHILE WE ARE
CONDUCTING BUSINESS IN SESSION
OTHER MEMBERS ARE WAITING TO
HAVE THEIR BILLS TO BE HEARD
THEY HAVE CONSTITUENTS, 60,000
OR 70,000.
MILLIONS OF PEOPLE -
JUST BECAUSE YOU DON'T GET YOUR
WAY, YOU CAN'T COME TO THE WELL,
BRING YOUR FRIENDS, AND THROW
TEMPER TANTRUM WITH AN
ADOLESCENT BULLHORN.
IT DOESN'T GIVE YOU THE RIGHT
TO ENRAGE FOLKS THAT ARE HERE
TO WATCH THIS BODY CONDUCT
BUSINESS AND TALK ABOUT THINGS
YOU KNOW GOOD AND WELL THAT WE
HAVE WORKED HARD, VERY HARD TO
PROTECT OUR CHILDREN IN THE
STATE OF TENNESSEE
>> YOU ALL HEARD THAT.
HOW MANY OF YOU WOULD WANT TO
BE SPOKEN TO THAT WAY?
HOW MANY OF YOU WOULD WANT TO
BE SPOKEN TO THAT WAY?
WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT
POLITICS
WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT GUN
VIOLENCE
HOW MANY OF YOU WOULD WANT TO
BE SPOKEN TO THAT WAY?
THE REASON, I BELIEVE, THE
SPONSOR OF THIS LEGISLATION,
THIS RESOLUTION MISSPOKE THAT
WAY IS BECAUSE HE'S COMFORTABLE
DOING IT
THERE IS A DECORUM THAT ALLOWS
IT
THERE IS A DECORUM THAT ALLOWS
YOU TO BELITTLE PEOPLE.
WE DIDN'T BELITTLE NOBODY.
WHAT WE SAID WAS THAT WE CANNOT
BE BEHOLDEN TO GUN LOBBYISTS
THE NRA.
WE CANNOT BE BEHOLDEN TO
ORGANIZATIONS THAT DON'T WANT
TO SEE AS MAKE BROAD ARREST ON
GUN VIOLENCE
THERE IS SOMETHING, SOMETHING
ELSE THAT I THINK THAT THE
SPONSOR OF THIS RESOLUTION HAS
ALLUDED TO
THERE WERE A FEW THINGS HERE
THAT YOU SAID THAT I WANT TO
ADDRESS.
HE CALLED A PEACEFUL PROTEST ON
TEMPERATURE.
IS WHAT IS HAPPENING OUTSIDE
THESE DOORS BY PEOPLE OF
TENNESSEE WHO WANT TO SEE
CHANGE A TEMPER TANTRUM?
SARA'S SON KNOW WHAT WAS AT THE
COVENANT SCHOOL.
HE SURVIVED.
HE'S FIVE YEARS OLD.
SHE SHOWED UP HERE DEMANDING
THAT WE DO SOMETHING ABOUT GUN
VIOLENCE
IS THAT A TEMPER TANTRUM
IT IS ELEVATING OUR VOICES FOR
JUSTICE OR CHANGE A TEMPER
TANTRUM?
THERE IS SOMETHING IN THE
DECORUM OF THIS BODY THAT MAKE
IT OKAY TO SAY THAT FOLKS ARE
EXERCISING THEIR FIRST
AMENDMENT RIGHTS TO SPEAK UP
FOR THE HUNDREDS OF THOUSAND
OF PEOPLE COLLECTIVELY THAT WE
REPRESENT, THERE'S SOMETHING IN
THE DECORUM OF THIS BODY THAT
SAYS IT IS OKAY TO CALL THAT A
TEMPER TANTRUM, TO CALL PEOPLE
WE DISAGREE WITH ON THE ISSUES
TO, SAY THEY ALL THEY WANT'S
ATTENTION.
I WILL TELL YOU WHAT, I DON'T
PERSONALLY WANT ATTENTION.
WHAT I WANT'S ATTENTION ON THE
ISSUE OF GUN VIOLENCE.
INSTEAD, WE ARE HERE WITH THE
RESOLUTION YOU PUT UP A TALKIN
ABOUT EXPELLING ME FOR
ADVOCATING FOR ENDING GUN
VIOLENCE IN THE STATE OF
TENNESSEE.
I WOULD MUCH RATHER BE TALKING
WITH YOU ABOUT LEGISLATION TO
PROTECT SHELBY COUNTY AND TO
PROTECT OUR COMMUNITIES THAN
TALKING ABOUT WHY WE DON'T
DESERVE TO HAVE OU
REPRESENTATION LOST BECAUSE WE
CAME TO THE WELL OF THIS HOUSE
SAYING, WE'VE GOT TO DO
SOMETHING!
>> THE WHITE REPUBLICAN MAN OF
THE TENNESSEE LEGISLATURE
BELIEVES THEY HAD MUCH TO TEACH
THE TWO BLACK MEN WHO THEY HAVE
DECIDED TO EXPEL
ONE OF THE WHITE REPUBLICAN MEN
TOLD REPRESENTATIVE PEARSON
IT'S NOT ABOUT THE RULES
THAT WAS THE ONLY TRUE THING
THAT REPUBLICAN SAID TONIGHT
IT CLEARLY WAS NOT ABOUT THE
RULES BECAUSE ACCORDING TO THE
RULES OF THE TENNESSEE
LEGISLATURE NO ONE IN THE
HISTORY OF THE LEGISLATURE HAD
EVER BEEN EXPELLED FOR ISSUES
OF WHAT THEY ARE CALLING
DECORUM.
THEY'VE ONLY BEEN EXPELLED FOR
BEING FOUND GUILTY OF CRIMES
REPRESENTATIVE LAMBERT WHO SAID
THAT ABOUT NOT BEING ABOUT THE
RULES, HE ALSO SAID THIS
>> WE ALL, ALL OF US WANT TO
MAKE SURE THAT THERE ARE NO
MORE CHILDREN KILLED
>> THAT IS SUCH AN EASY
SENTENCE FOR HIM TO SAY BUT NOT
A SINGLE REPUBLICAN IN THAT
LEGISLATURE HAS EVER CONSIDERED
DOING ANYTHING TO STOP THE
CHILDREN OF TENNESSEE FROM
BEING MURDERED IN THEIR SCHOOL
BY LEGALLY PURCHASED AR-15S.
THAT IS THE WEAPON, LEGALLY
PURCHASED, THAT KILLED 39 YEAR
OLD CHILDREN IN THAT NASHVILLE
SCHOOL LAST WEEK
REPRESENTATIVE LAMBERTH'S THIS
WEEK EXPLAINED TO STUDENT
PROTESTERS AT THE LEGISLATURE
THAT IT DID NOT MATTER AT ALL
THAT IT WAS AN AR-15
HERE IS WHAT HE SAID TO THEM
>> IT'S NOT ABOUT THIS ONE
GUN
IF THERE IS A FIREARM OUT THERE
THAT YOU ARE COMFORTABLE BEING
SHOT WITH, THEN SHOW ME WHAT IT
IS
>> THERE'S A FIREARM OUT THERE
YOU'RE COMFORTABLE BEING SHOT
WITH, PLEASE SHOW ME WHICH ONE
IT IS.
IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO THINK OF A
MORE DESPICABLE THING TO SAY TO
STUDENTS WHO ARE AFRAID OF
BEING SHOT AND MURDERED IN
THEIR CLASSROOMS
WHAT OTHER GUN WOULD YOU LIKE
TO BE SHOT WITH?
THE AR-15 AS WE HAVE REPORTED
ON THIS PROGRAM AS THE
WASHINGTON POST HAS REPORTED
THIS WEEK THERE'S MUCH MORE
DAMAGE TO THE HUMAN BODY
INCLUDING FATAL DAMAGE, THAN
OTHER FIREARMS
MANY CHILDREN COULD HAVE
SURVIVED BEING SHOT IN SOME OF
OUR SCHOOL SHOOTINGS BY A LESS
POWERFUL FIREARM THAN AN AR-15
THE AR-15 DOES MATTER.
THE AR-15 HAS ACTUALLY BEHEADED
SOME SMALL STUDENTS.
THAT HAS HAPPENED IN UVALDE.
ANOTHER WEAPON WOULD NOT BE
CAPABLE OF THAT.
BANNING THE AR-15 WOULD HELP
BANNING THE AR-15 FOR TEN YEARS
WHICH WE DID WHEN JOE BIDEN GOT
THAT PASS WHAT HE WAS A SENATOR
THAT DID HELP.
HERE IS WHAT REPRESENTATIVE
PIERSON HAD TO SAY IN THE HOUSE
TONIGHT IN RESPONSE TO
REPRESENTATIVE LAMBERTH.
>> WHAT ABOUT THE THOUSANDS OF
PEOPLE WHO WERE HERE THAT
THURSDAY WHO YOU NEVER
RECOGNIZED
WHAT ABOUT THE THOUSANDS OF
PEOPLE HERE WHO YOUR COLLEAGUES
NEVER MADE EYE CONTACT WITH OR
SMIRKED AT AND GAVE A THUMBS UP
OR LEFT IT WHAT?
ABOUT THE THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE
WHO CAME HERE SAYING, WE NEED
TO END GUN VIOLENCE?
WE NEEDED TO DO SOMETHING!
THEY WERE CALLED
INSURRECTIONISTS BY THE SPEAKER
OF THE HOUSE
WHAT ABOUT THE THOUSANDS OF
PEOPLE WHO MARCHED THE STREETS
OF NASHVILLE AND CAME TO THE

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Tennessee’s Republican-led House expels 2 Democratic lawmakers over gun reform protest, fails in bid to oust a third
by Dakin Andone, Ryan Young, Amy Simonson and Steve Almasy
CNN
Updated 10:36 PM EDT, Thu April 6, 2023
https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/06/us/tenne ... index.html

Nashville (CNN) In an extraordinary, emotionally charged session marked by tense exchanges and punctuated by boos and chants from onlookers, Tennessee’s Republican-controlled House of Representatives voted to expel two Black lawmakers – but failed to oust a third representative – a week after the three Democrats led a gun reform protest in the chamber.

The crowd in the gallery erupted in boos and chants following both expulsions and loud cheers when the vote count turned up just short in the bid to oust Rep. Gloria Johnson. The session lasted seven hours.

The vote over rules violations for Jones split along party lines 72-25, while the vote in Pearson’s case was 69-26. Johnson’s vote was 65-30. Expulsion from the House requires a two-thirds majority of the total membership.

Protesters upset with inaction on gun violence reform after a deadly mass shooting at a Nashville school again flooded the state Capitol on Thursday as the session to vote on the expulsions – a step the state House has taken only twice since the 1860s – was to begin.

During the debate over his expulsion, Jones said: “We called for you all to ban assault weapons and you respond with an assault on democracy.”

[x]
Justin Jones carries his name tag after a vote at the Tennessee House of Representatives to expel him. Cheney Orr/Reuters

After surviving her vote, Johnson, who is White, was asked why there was a difference in the outcome for her and Jones, who is Black-Filipino.”It might have to do with the color of our skin,” she said.

The three lawmakers led a protest on the House floor last Thursday without being recognized, CNN affiliate WSMV reported, and used a bullhorn as demonstrators at the Capitol called on lawmakers to take action after the shooting at the Covenant School in Nashville left three 9-year-olds and three adults dead. Each lawmaker was removed from their committee assignments following last week’s demonstrations.

Each of the resolutions said the lawmakers “did knowingly and intentionally bring disorder and dishonor to the House of Representatives,” saying they “began shouting without recognition” and “proceeded to disrupt the proceedings of the House Representatives” for just under an hour Thursday morning.

The resolutions removed the two lawmakers from office under Article II, Section 12 of the Tennessee Constitution, which says, in part, the House can set its own rules and “punish its members for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two-thirds, expel a member.”

President calls expulsion votes ‘undemocratic’

President Joe Biden criticized the proceedings in Nashville in a tweet.

“Three kids and three officials gunned down in yet another mass shooting. And what are GOP officials focused on? Punishing lawmakers who joined thousands of peaceful protesters calling for action. It’s shocking, undemocratic, and without precedent,” he wrote.

[x]
From left, Rep Gloria Johnson, former Rep. Justin Jones and former Rep. Justin Pearson leave the Tennessee State Capitol. Cheney Orr/Reuters

On Thursday, the debate began with Republicans playing footage of the protest last week, showing Jones, Johnson and Pearson standing in the well of the House and using the bullhorn to address their colleagues and protesters in the gallery.

Democrats were opposed to having the footage played, arguing it was unfair because they had not seen the video themselves and did not know the extent to which it had been edited.

After Jones was expelled, Democratic Whip Jason Powell, who represents Nashville, angrily said the House was spending too much time on the expulsion issue.

“I had to leave here Monday night after this resolution was introduced and go to my son’s Little League field and see red ribbons surrounding the outfield in memory of William Kinney who was murdered and I am outraged, and we should all be outraged,” he said, his voice rising. “We need to do something and expelling Justin Jones is not the answer. It is a threat to democracy.”

Pearson, who is Black, told CNN during the discussion over Johnson’s expulsion: “We are losing our democracy to White supremacy. We are losing our democracy to patriarchy. We are losing our democracy to people who want to keep a status quo that is damning to the rest of us and damning to our children and unborn people.”

Republicans control the Tennessee House by a wide margin, with 75 members to Democrats’ 22 – and two now-vacant seats.

Lawmakers will return to work Monday with the legislature’s schedule showing two committee meetings and the full House session beginning at 5 p.m. CT.

Jones says he will be back

Jones was defiant in his defense and again used his time in the well to call for action on firearms legislation.

“There comes a time where people get sick and tired of being sick and tired,” Jones said in a speech prior to a vote on his expulsion. “And so my colleagues, I say that what we did was act in our responsibility as legislators to serve and give voice to the grievances of people who have been silenced.”

Jones added: “How can you bring dishonor to an already dishonorable house?”

As he left the Capitol on Thursday, Jones said he is not sure what his next steps are following his expulsion.

“I will continue to show up to this Capitol with these young people whether I’m in that chamber or outside,” Jones told reporters.

After Jones was expelled, those inside the Capitol gallery raised their fists and booed. They again booed when Pearson was ousted, and as a vote to recess was taken, crowds gathered in the chambers could be heard chanting, “Shame on you.”

Cheers filled the Capitol following the failed vote to expel Johnson.

Johnson thanked the crowd that was gathered around the building and encouraged them to vote. “Keep showing up, standing up and speaking out and we will be with you,” she added.

Following the session, Pearson told reporters he hopes to be re-appointed.

“I do hope to get re-appointed to serve in the state legislature by the Shelby County Commissioners, and a lot of them, I know, are upset about the anti-democratic behavior of this White supremacist-led state legislature,” he said.

It is possible Jones and Pearson could regain their seats as local governments can vote to fill the vacated positions through appointments then hold special elections.

Nashville Mayor John Cooper said in a tweet Thursday night that Jones and Pearson’s districts were “disenfranchised today.”

“I’m proud that Metro Council is meeting Monday to fill the vacancy left in Nashville by today’s vote, & I believe they’ll send (Jones) right back to continue serving his constituents,” the tweet read.

Expulsions are very rare

In the last 157 years, the House has expelled only two lawmakers, which requires a two-thirds vote: In 1980, after a representative was found guilty of accepting a bribe while in office, and in 2016, when another was expelled over allegations of sexual harassment.

Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton said peaceful protesters have always been welcomed to the capitol to have their voices heard on any issue, but that the actions of the Democratic lawmakers had detracted from that process.

“In effect, those actions took away the voices of the protestors, the focus on the six victims who lost their lives, and the families who lost their loved ones,” Sexton said in a series of tweets Monday.

“We cannot allow the actions of the three members to distract us from protecting our children. We will get through this together, and it will require talking about all solutions,” Sexton said.

During the discussion Thursday, Democratic Rep. Joe Towns called the move to expel the “nuclear option.”

“You never use a sledgehammer to kill a gnat,” Towns said. “We should not go to the extreme of expelling our members for fighting for what many of the citizens want to happen, whether you agree with it or not.”

To some, the vote to expel Johnson, Jones and Pearson was a distraction from the real issue: Keeping children safe.

“I want people to know this is not a political issue, it’s a child issue,” Deborah Castellano, a first-grade teacher in Nashville, told CNN. “If you wash away Democrat, Republican, it’s about kids and do we want them to be safe or not. I will stand in front of children and protect as many as I can with my body … but we shouldn’t have to, and those kids shouldn’t be afraid.”

CNN’s Ryan Young reported from Nashville while CNN’s Amy Simonson reported from Atlanta and Dakin Andone reported and wrote in New York. CNN’s Sam Fossum, Sara Smart and Raja Razek contributed to this report.

[admin]

'This is a predominantly-White supermajority undoing democracy' says Dem. lawmaker Justin Jones
by Joy Reid
MSNBC
Apr 6, 2023 #Nashville #GunControl #gunlaws

Former Tennessee St. Rep. Justin Jones, who was just expelled by Republican lawmakers from the state legislature after supporting students in a gun control protest at the state capitol, joins Joy Reid live from the legislative chamber. "If you didn't tell me this was happening to me, I would think it was 1963 instead of 2023, because what we are seeing is a predominantly-White supermajority undoing democracy, forcing their will on my district, which is a predominately Black and Brown district, one of the most diverse in Tennessee," Jones tells The ReidOut on MSNBC.



Transcript

YOU JUST SAW JOINS ME MOMENTS
FROM NOW
AND WE BEGIN TONIGHT WITH AN
UNPRECEDENTED AND FRANKLY
SHAMEFUL DAY IN AMERICAN
POLITICS
THE TENNESSEE HOUSE TOOK UP
RESOLUTIONS TO EXPEL THREE
DEMOCRATIC LAWMAKERS, NOT FOR
BREAKING ANY LAWS, MIND YOU.
THEY MOVED TO EXPEL THESE
MEMBERS FOR STANDING IN THE WELL
OF THE CHAMBER DESPITE BEING
RULED OUT OF ORDER BY THE
SPEAKER, AND ATTEMPTING TO SPEAK
LOUDLY AGAINST GUN VIOLENCE.
AND AGAINST CHILDREN BEING SHOT
DEAD IN SCHOOLS.
SOMETHING THAT LITERALLY JUST
HAPPENED WEEKS AGO IN NASHVILLE.
THESE THREE MEMBERS WERE
STANDING IN ALLIANCE WITH GUN
REFORM SUPPORTERS, INCLUDING
HUNDREDS OF STUDENTS WHO PACKED
THE GALLERY, HOPING, HOPING AND
PRAYER THAT THE LEGISLATURE
WOULD TAKE UP A GUN REFORM PLAN.
INSTEAD, THIS WAS THE PLAN
TO EXPEL THE MEMBERS WHO STOOD
UP FOR GUN REFORM.
ONE STATE REPRESENTATIVE, JUSTIN
JONES, WAS EXPELLED THIS
AFTERNOON.
WHILE LATE TODAY, STATE
REPRESENTATIVE GLORIA JOHNSON
SURVIVED EXPULSION BY ONE VOTE
A THIRD LAWMAKER, JUSTIN
PEARSON, STILL FACES A VOTE AT
THIS HOUR.
REPUBLICANS LIKENED THE ACTIONS
OF THESE THREE LAWMAKERS TO THE
JANUARY 6th INSURRECTIONISTS
HERE ARE THE THREE DEMOCRATS
ARRIVING AT THE TENNESSEE
CAPITOL THIS MORNING
THEY ARE NOW REFERRED TO AS THE
TENNESSEE THREE.
THEIR CALL FOR GUN SAFETY
LEGISLATION COMES IN THE WAKE OF
THAT SCHOOL SHOOTING IN
NASHVILLE, WHEN THREE CHILDREN
AND THREE CAREGIVERS WERE GUNNED
DOWN AT THEIR SCHOOL MINUTES
FROM THE STATE CAPITOL
CHANTS FROM PROTESTERS WERE
AUDIBLE THROUGHOUT THE SESSION
TODAY, BOTH INSIDE AND OUTSIDE
THE CHAMBER.
BY YOUNG PEOPLE, SOME OF WHOM
CAN'T EVEN VOTE YET, BUT WHO ARE
DEMANDING ACTION ON THE
ASTRONOMICAL INCREASE IN GUN
VIOLENCE AT SCHOOLS.
HUNDREDS OF ADVOCATES, STUDENTS,
YOUNG PEOPLE, AND PARENTS,
GATHERED THIS MORNING AS THEY
HAVE BEEN EVERY DAY SINCE THE
SHOOTING
IN WHAT IS LITERALLY A FIGHT FOR
THEIR LIVES.
STAGING WALK-OUTS, MARCHING TO
THE CAPITOL, FLOODING THE STATE
HOUSE TO CHANNEL THEIR TERROR
INTO ACTION.
A BURDEN THIS COUNTRY
CONTINUOUSLY PLACES ON THESE
VERY YOUNG SHOULDERS
WHILE REPUBLICANS FOCUS INSTEAD
ON THE EXTREMELY RARE,
EXTRAORDINARY, AND
ANTI-DEMOCRATIC ACTION TO
SILENCE THEIR OPPONENTS.
ONE OF THE TENNESSEE THREE,
GLORIA JOHNSON, A FORMER SCHOOL
TEACHER, TOOK TO THE FLOOR AHEAD
OF THE EXPULSION VOTE THAT SHE
BARELY SURVIVED.
>> RESPECT THE HUMAN DIGNITY OF
EVERY CITIZEN IN THE STATE OF
TENNESSEE.
AND NOT JUST THE ONES THAT LOOK
LIKE YOU AND NOT JUST THE ONES
THAT AGREE WITH YOU.
WE HAVE DONE SO MUCH DAMAGE UP
HERE TO VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES
THIS YEAR.
AND NOW WE'RE DOING DAMAGE BY
NOT ADDRESSING THE CONCERNS OF
THE FAMILIES AND THE CHILDREN.
>> BUT IT WAS JUSTIN JONES WHO
REPRESENTS THE DISTRICT IN
NASHVILLE WHERE LAST MONTH'S
SHOOTING TOOK PLACE WHO WAS
ULTIMATELY EXPELLED.
AND HERE IS WHAT HE HAD TO SAY
MOMENTS BEFORE THE VOTE.
>> WE SHALL NOT BOW, THAT'S WHAT
I SAY TO THE HOUSE SPEAKER, THAT
WE SHALL NOT BOW, BECAUSE WHAT
IS DISORDERLY AS A BODY THAT HAS
USED VOTER SUPPRESSION AND
RIGGED MAPS TO TAKE CONTROL OF
OUR STATE.
WHAT IS DISORDERLY IS A BODY
THAT SILENCES THE VOICES OF
NASHVILLE AT THE CONGRESSIONAL
LEVEL, AT THE CITY COUNCIL
LEVEL, NOW TRYING TO REMOVE US
AT THE LEGISLATIVE LEVEL
THAT'S DISORDERLY TO DEMOCRACY
THAT IS DISRUPTIVE TO WHAT WE
HAVE AN OBLIGATION TO UPHOLD
>> AND JOINING ME NOW IS STATE
REPRESENTATIVE JUSTIN JONES OF
NASHVILLE.
AND REPRESENTATIVE JONES, I
WATCHED THIS, I SPENT THE DAY
WATCHING THIS, WATCHING WHAT WAS
HAPPENING WITH THIS HEARING AND
WATCHING YOU, AND YOU WERE
EXTRAORDINARY, BY THE WAY.
BUT WHAT I FOUND REALLY
REMARKABLE WAS HOW SMALL AND
MUNDANE THE ARGUMENTS WERE TO
EXPEL YOU.
YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT THE IDEA
THAT YOU WEREN'T THERE TO MAKE
FRIENDS OR TO BOW DOWN TO YOUR
COLLEAGUES ON THE OTHER SIDE
AND THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT
DECORUM AND THE RULES OF ORDER
I WANT TO SHOW AN IMAGE OF WHAT
HAPPENED ON THE DAY IN QUESTION.
THIS WAS WHAT, IF WE CAN PUT IT
UP, THIS WAS WHAT WAS HAPPENING
ON THE FLOOR WHEN THE THREE OF
YOU WENT TO THE WELL OF THE
CHAMBER.
I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT FOR YOU
TO EXPLAIN WHAT HAPPENED AND WHY
YOU ALL WENT TO THE FLOOR.
>> YES, THANK YOU SO MUCH,
MS. REID
WE WENT TO THE FLOOR BECAUSE
MULTIPLE TIMES WE WERE SILENCES
TALKING ABOUT THE CRISIS OF GUN
VIOLENCE, THE THOUSANDS OF YOUNG
PEOPLE OUT HERE DEMANDING WE ACT
ON
I'M THE YOUNGEST BLACK LAWMAKER
IN THE STATE OF TENNESSEE,
REPRESENTING ONE OF THE MOST
DIVERSE DISTRICTS, SO I WENT TO
THE WELL TO SPEAK FOR MY
CONSTITUENTS, PARTICULARLY THE
YOUNG PEOPLE WHOSE VOICES ARE
NOT HEARD BY THE BODY, WHO ARE
SO BEHOLDEN BY THE NRA THAT
THEY'RE NOT LISTENING TO YOUNG
PEOPLE WHO SAY WE WANT TO BE
SAFE IN SCHOOL, WE WANT TO BAN
ASSAULT WEAPONS.
>> JUST TO BE CLEAR, TODAY,
GLORIA JOHNSON, WHO DID END UP
SURVIVING HER EXPULSION ATTEMPT,
SHE MADE THE POINT, AND YOU MADE
THE POINT AS WELL, THAT TODAY,
WHAT WE ALL WATCHED AS WE ALL
WATCHED, I WATCHED IT ONLINE,
AND THOSE WHO WERE ABLE TO SEE
IT ON AIR, WHAT WE SAW, SHE
SAID, AND I THINK YOU INDICATED
WAS NOT THE WAY THAT THAT HOUSE
CHAMBER NORMALLY OPERATES.
THAT EVERYONE GETTING TO SPEAK,
EVERYONE GETTING FIVE MINUTES,
EVERYONE GETTING A CHANCE TO SAY
THEIR PIECE, CAN YOU EXPLAIN, IS
THAT THE WAY IT NORMALLY GOES
UNDER THIS SPEAKER AND IN THAT
HOUSE?
>> I MEAN, THE NATION, THE WORLD
WAS WATCHING TENNESSEE, WHICH IS
WHY THEY WERE ON THEIR BEST
BEHAVIOR, BUT EVEN UNDER THEIR
BEST BEHAVIOR, YOU SAW THE
DISDAIN, THE ARROGANCE, YOU
KNOW, BASICALLY HAD A MEMBER
CALL ME AN UPPITY NEGRO.
THIS IS THE BEHAVIOR OF OUR
BODY
EVEN WITH THE NATION WATCHING
THEM, EVEN WITH THE WORLD
WATCHING, YOU SEE THE ASSAULT ON
DEMOCRACY THAT HAPPENED IN THE
MOST EXTREME EXAMPLE WAS MY
EXPULSION, BECAUSE IT'S NOT
ABOUT ME, IT'S ABOUT THE 78
PEOPLE I REPRESENT
THESE YOUNG PEOPLE, YOU KNOW,
ONE OF THE MOST DIVERSE
DISTRICTS BEING SILENCED BECAUSE
THEY'RE UPSET THAT WE DON'T FALL
IN LINE TO THEIR NARRATIVE OF
WHAT TENNESSEE SHOULD BE
THAT'S A MULTIRACIAL DEMOCRACY
>> INDEED.
SOME OF THE MOST EXTRAORDINARY
MOMENTS, YOU HAD ONE MEMBER, THE
ONLY NON-WHITE MEMBER IN THE
HOUSE MAJORITY, LECTURING YOU,
HE'S INDIAN AMERICAN, TO SAY YOU
SHOULD BE HAPPY TO BE THERE AND
JUST JOIN WITH US AND
ESSENTIALLY BEHAVE YOURSELF.
THERE WAS ANOTHER MEMBER YOU
ALLEGED SAID TO YOU THAT YOU
WERE A DISGRACE, AND ESSENTIALLY
CALLED YOU UPPITY BUT WOULDN'T
DO IT WHEN YOU PUT YOUR PHONE UP
AND SAID SAY THAT AGAIN ON
CAMERA
I BELIEVE HE MIGHT HAVE BEEN ONE
OF THE SPONSORS OF THE
RESOLUTION
WHAT IS THE ATMOSPHERE LIKE,
BEING A 27-YEAR-OLD, BOTH YOU,
THE TWO JUSTINS ARE BOTH 27.
BEING A YOUNG BLACK LEGISLATOR
IN THAT BODY, WHAT IS IT
NORMALLY LIKE FOR YOU ALL?
>> I MEAN, THIS IS A VERY
HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT, BUT MORE
IMPORTANTLY, IT'S HOSTILE TO
DEMOCRACY.
SO WHAT YOU SEE IN THERE,
THEY'RE SAYING YOU SHOULD FEEL
GRATEFUL TO BE HERE.
THEY DIDN'T PUT ME HERE, THE
PEOPLE OF MY DISTRICT PUT ME
HERE
THAT'S WHAT THEY WERE TRYING TO
UNDO
FROM THE TIME I WALKED IN IN
JANUARY, I WAS MADE TO FEEL LIKE
I SHOULDN'T BE WELCOME HERE
BECAUSE I WAS ARRESTED IN THIS
BUILDING OVER 14 TIMES TRYING TO
REMOVE A KKK STATUTE WE FINALLY
REMOVED WHERE WE'RE STANDING
MY COLLEAGUED ON THE OTHER SIDE
OF THE AISLE FROM THE DAY I
WALKED IN DID NOT WANT ME HERE
TODAY, THEY OVERTURNED
DEMOCRACY, THEY SET A VERY
DANGEROUS PRECEDENT FOR THE
NATION OF EXPELLING A
DULY-ELECTED LAWMAKER BECAUSE OF
FIRST AMENDMENT ACTIVITY
THIS HAS NEVER HAPPENED IN
TENNESSEE HISTORY.
IT'S NEVER HAPPENED, YOU KNOW,
IN ANY OF THE EXAMPLES OF
EXPULSIONS I GAVE, INCLUDING
UNETHICAL AND CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR.
THERE HAVE ONLY BEEN THREE
EXPULSIONS FROM THE HOUSE IN
OVER 200 YEARS
THEY SET A PRECEDENT, BEING THE
FIRST LAWMAKER, THE FIRST YOUNG
BLACK LAWMAKER EXPELLED FOR
SPEAKING FOR MY CONSTITUENTS
>> YOU TALKED ABOUT, I MEAN,
SOMEONE HAS PEED IN THE SEAT OF
ANOTHER MEMBER AND NOT BEEN
EXPELLED
THERE HAVE BEEN PEOPLE ACCUSED
OF SEXUAL ASSAULT, SERIAL SEXUAL
ASSAULT IN THAT CHAMBER.
YOU KNOW, CRIMES, AND IT SEEMS
THAT THE ONE THING THAT THIS
LEGISLATURE CANNOT STAND, CANNOT
STOMACH, ARE YOUNG BLACK
LAWMAKERS WHO SPEAK FOR THEIR
CONSTITUENTS
CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THE
PROTESTERS
YOU WERE SPEAKING FOR THEM, AND
THERE WERE A LOT OF PROTESTERS
OUTSIDE ON THE DAY IN QUESTION,
THE DAY THAT YOU WENT DOWN WITH
THAT BULL HORN AND WERE TRYING
TO HAVE YOUR SAY, BECAUSE AS YOU
SAID, YOU COULDN'T
WHAT DID THOSE YOUNG PROTESTERS
WANT
WHAT WERE THEY SAYING, WHAT WERE
THEY CHANTING?
WHAT DID THEY WANT YOU TO DO
>> I MEAN, THERE WERE THOUSANDS
OF YOUNG PEOPLE.
THIS IS THE LARGEST PROTEST WE
HAVE SEEN IN NASHVILLE IN OVER A
DECADE
IT'S SO SHAMEFUL, MORALLY INSANE
THAT A WEEK AFTER A MASS
SHOOTING IMPACTED MY COMMUNITY,
I REPRESENT A PART OF NASHVILLE,
HERE IN NASHVILLE, WE HAD A MASS
SHOOTING AT COVENANT ELEMENTARY,
AND MY COLLEAGUES' FIRST
RESPONSE IS TO EXPEL LAWMAKERS
FOR STANDING WITH OUR
CONSTITUENTS, TO EXPEL ME FOR
BEING A VOICE FOR MY DISTRICT,
AND PARTICULARLY, THESE YOUNG
PEOPLE WHO ARE GATHERED HERE
BEGGING US, MANY OF THEM CAN'T
EVEN VOTE YET, BUT THEY WILL
VOTE ONE DAY
BUT NO MATTER IF THEY CAN VOTE
OR NOT, THEY HAVE A RIGHT TO BE
HEARD, AND THEY HAVE A RIGHT TO
FEEL SAFE IN THEIR SCHOOLS, FREE
FROM THE TERROR OF MASS
SHOOTINGS AND THIS PROLIFERATION
OF WEAPONS OF WAR ON OUR STREETS
OF TENNESSEE
>> PRESIDENT BIDEN HAS RESPONDED
TO WHAT HAPPENED
I DON'T THINK I HAVE IT IN FRONT
OF ME.
WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE AT A
NATIONAL LEVEL
I THINK THE COUNTRY, THOSE WHO
CARE ABOUT -- THERE IT IS, THESE
OFFICIALS GUNNED DOWN IN YET
ANOTHER MASS SHOOTING AND WHAT
DO THEGOP OFFICIALS FOCUS ON
PUNISHING LAWMAKERS WHO JOINED
PEACEFUL PROTESTERS CALLING FOR
ACTION
THIS IS A STATE ISSUE.
THEY CAN MAKE THEIR OWN RULES,
BUT AT A NATIONAL LEVEL, WHAT
WOULD YOU WANT TO SEE THE
RESPONSE BEING, AND WHAT DO YOUR
CONSTITUENTS, WHAT DO YOU THINK
THEY WOULD LIKE TO SEE
>> I MEAN, THIS IS THE VERY
DANGEROUS PRECEDENT FOR THE
NATION
SO WE HOPE THAT THE NATION WILL
CONTINUE TO SEE WHAT'S GOING ON
HERE AND SUPPORT WHAT'S
HAPPENING IN TENNESSEE BECAUSE
IF YOU DIDN'T TELL ME THIS WAS
HAPPEN TO ME, I WOULD THINK IT
WAS 1963 INSTEAD OF 2023
BECAUSE WHAT WE'RE SEEING IS
PREDOMINANTLY WHITE
SUPERMAJORITY UNDOING DEMOCRACY,
FORCING THEIR WILL ON MY
DISTRICT, SO WE SEE A DIRECT
ASSAULT ON DEMOCRACY, ON OUR
RIGHT TO FREE EXPRESSION, ON OUR
RIGHT TO REPRESENTATION.
WE HOPE THAT THE NATION WILL
COME, THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
MAY NEED TO LOOK AT THIS
I HAVE BEEN SPEAKING TO COUNSEL
AND WE'RE GOING TO LOOK AT WHAT
ARE OUR NEXT STEPS LEGALLY
I DO BELIEVE THAT IS
UNCONSTITUTIONAL, A VIOLATION OF
THE RIGHTS OF NOT JUST ME BUT OF
MY CONSTITUENTS AND THAT'S THE
MOST IMPORTANT THING, I DID NOT
GO TO THAT WELL IN MY INDIVIDUAL
CAPACITY
I WENT THERE A

[admin]

The Tennessee Three discuss expulsion from the state legislature
by Symone D. Sanders
MSNBC
Apr 8, 2023 #Symone

Symone D. Sanders-Townsend sits down with Rep. Justin Jones, Rep. Justin Pearson and Rep. Gloria Johnson of the Tennessee Three for their first interview together following the expulsion votes in the Tennessee State Legislature.



Transcript

HOUSE, TO DEMAND THEIR
COLLEAGUES SUPPORT GUN SAFET
REFORM
THREE DAYS LATER, THE TRIO NOW
KNOWN AS THE TENNESSEE THREE
ARE FIGHTING FOR THEIR JOBS.
NOT BY ADDRESSING THE VOTERS
WHO ELECTED THEM, A REPUBLICAN
SUPERMAJORITY VOWING TO PUNISH
THEM
REPUBLICAN HOUSE SPEAKER
CAMERON SEXTON, EVEN LINK THEI
PEACEFUL PROTEST T
INSURRECTION
WITH NO INVESTIGATION, N
CONSIDERATION OF A CENSURE O
SOME OTHER LEGISLATIVE PENALTY
TENNESSEE REPUBLICANS WIELDE
THEIR POWER TO CALL FOR TH
EXPULSION OF THE DULY ELECTE
TENNESSEE THREE.
WELL JOHNSON NARROWLY SURVIVED
THE EXPULSION VOTE
REPRESENTATIVES JUSTIN JONES
AND JUSTIN PEARSON, THE TW
YOUNGEST BLACK MALE LEGISLATOR
IN THE BODY, DID NOT
MOMENTS LATER, ON THE CAPITO
STEPS, THEIR RESOLVE WAS
STRONGER THAN EVER
>> THEY THOUGHT THEY WON TODAY
THEY DON'T REALIZE, THEY DON'T
REALIZE WHAT THEY'VE STARTED
THEY STARTED A MOVEMENT THEY
CAN'T STOP, THEY THOUGHT THA
WE WERE CREATING GOOD TROUBL
THERE, WE'RE ON THE OUTSID
NOW.
>> SOMETIMES TO GET FROM THE
PERIPHERY IN THE BACK OF THE
HOUSE, YOU HAVE TO GO TO THE
WILL OF DEMOCRACY.
AND DEMAND THAT DEMOCRACY BE
TRUE FOR EVERYBODY
AND NOT JUST WITH RICH WHITE
MEN IN SUITS
>> IF THE REPUBLICANS GOAL WAS
TO SILENCE THESE GOO
TROUBLEMAKERS, IT WAS FAR FROM
A SUCCESS.
THE TENNESSEE THREES EXPULSION
SPARKED EVEN GREATER PROTEST
AND SKYROCKETED THE TENNESSE
LEGISLATURE TO THE TOP OF TH
NATIONAL NEWS CYCLE.
THE TRIO HAD A VIRTUAL
DISCUSSION WITH PRESIDENT BIDEN,
WHERE HE THANKED THEM FOR THEI
EXAMPLE, AND VICE PRESIDEN
KAMALA HARRIS MADE A SUDDE
TRIP TO ENLIST EVEN MORE
TENNESSEEANS IN THE FIGHT FO
DEMOCRACY.
>> A DEMOCRACY SESSION DOES NO
SILENCE THE PEOPLE, YOU DO NOT
STIFLE THE PEOPLE, YOU DON'T
TURN OFF THEIR MICROPHONES WHE
THEY ARE SPEAKING ABOUT TH
IMPORTANCE OF LIFE AND LIBERTY
>> WELL, WELL, WELL.
LET'S REMEMBER HOW WE GOT HERE
FOLKS.
AFTER YET ANOTHER SCHOOL
SHOOTING THAT KILLED THREE
CHILDREN, AND THREE ADULTS
REPUBLICAN LAWMAKERS CONTINUED
THEIR BULWARK AGAINST COMMON
SENSE REFORM, BANNING THEI
COLLEAGUES FROM THE PEOPLE
HOUSE, BUT REFUSING TO BAN
WEAPONS OF WAR IN THE STREETS.
I TRAVELED TO NASHVILL
YESTERDAY, TO SIT DOWN WITH TH
TENNESSEE THREE.
IT WAS THEIR FIRST JOINT
INTERVIEW SINCE THOS
UNPRECEDENTED EXPULSIONS, AND
BEGAN BY ASKING, NOW FORME
REPRESENTATIVE JUSTIN PEARSON,
ABOUT THE DEVASTATING REAL LIF
IMPACT OF UNFETTERED ACCESS TO
FIREARMS
HERE'S OUR CONVERSATION.
>> YEAH, THE PROLIFERATION O
GUNS IN OUR COMMUNITIES HA
REAL RAMIFICATIONS
LEGISLATION BEING PASSED AT TH
TENNESSEE STATE HOUSE THAT
MAKES IT EASIER TO ACCESS A GUN,
HAS REAL RAMIFICATIONS
SO, I SAY THE NAMES OF LARRY
THORN AND DR. NELSON, WHO WERE
MURDERED DUE TO GUN VIOLENCE
AND IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT
WE UNDERSTAND THIS MOMENT AS A
CATALYST ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED
BUT THEY'RE BEING LAWS THA
HAVE LED TO THIS HAPPENING, AN
THERE'S ALSO BEEN INACTION

>> [SYMONE SANDERS] SO, LET'S TALK ABOUT THE
EXPULSION.
REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSON, BY ONE
VOTE, YOU ARE STILL A SITTING
MEMBER OF THE TENNESSEE STATE
LEGISLATURE.
WHY DO YOU BELIEVE YOU WERE NOT
EXPELLED ON THURSDAY?

>> [REP. JOHNSON] BECAUSE OF THE COLOR OF MY
SKIN.

>> [SYMONE SANDERS] SO THEN, WOULD YOU SAY THAT THE
MEMBERS, THE REPUBLICAN MEMBERS
OF THE TENNESSEE STATE
LEGISLATURE, ARE RACISTS?

>> [REP. JOHNSON] WELL, I WOULD SAY THAT I WAS
SITTING IN A CRIMINAL JUSTICE
COMMITTEE, DISCUSSING A BILL
WHERE WE WERE --
THEY WOULD LIKE TO ADD THE
FIRING SQUAD AND THE ELECTRIC
CHAIR TO THE METHODS FOR
CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
AND ONE OF THE MEMBERS SAID, I
THINK WE NEED TO ADD HANGING BY
A TREE.
SO, HE CALLED FOR A HATE CRIME.
THIS WAS JUST A FEW WEEKS AGO.
AND WE HEAR COMMENTS LIKE THAT
FROM THE TIME THAT I'VE BEEN UP
THERE, I HAVE HEARD COMMENTS
LIKE THAT
ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS.
AND WE GOT A, "MEH', KIND OF
APOLOGY, REALLY.
BUT HE SAT IN A COMMITTEE AND
CALLED FOR A HATE CRIME. HE'S
STILL ON THAT COMMITTEE.
WE WERE STRIPPED OF OUR
COMMITTEES.

>> [SYMONE SANDERS] I WILL SAY, AS I WAS
PREPARING TO COME DOWN TO
NASHVILLE TODAY, I GOT A MESSAGE
FROM FOLKS THAT SAID, WELL, I
HOPE THAT REPRESENTATIVE JONES
AND REPRESENTATIVE PEARSON
CONTINUE TO KEEP THEIR COOL.
CONTINUE TO STAY CALM.
AND I DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOU, BUT I
FELT UNSETTLED BY THAT.
WHY DID IT UNSETTLE YOU?

>> [FMR. STATE REP. JUSTIN JONES] BECAUSE WHAT HAPPENED
YESTERDAY, WAS AN ACT OF
VIOLENCE
IT WAS A PUBLIC LYNCHING, IT
WAS AN ATTEMPT TO HUMILIATE, AN
ATTEMPT TO BEAT DOWN, AND TO
REALLY MAKE AN EXAMPLE OUT OF
US
WHAT WAS OUTRAGEOUS WAS THE THINGS
WE HEARD DURING THAT FAKE
TRIAL,
IN WHICH, ESSENTIALLY, THEY
WERE SAYING TO REPRESENTATIVE PEARSON
AND I, THAT WE ARE UPPITY NEGROES.
THEY MIGHT AS WELL HAVE CALLED US "BOY."
THEY DID NOT TREAT US LIKE
COLLEAGUES, THEY DID NOT TREAT US
LIKE EQUALS, AND THEY NEVER
HAVE
>> WHY DO YOU THINK IT WAS THI
PARTICULAR MOMENT THAT MOVED
THIS BODY TO TAKE THESE EXTREM
MEASURES
WHY WAS THIS MOMENT DIFFERENT?
>> AN INSTITUTION IS VER
DIFFICULT TO CHANGE.
AND EVEN IN A MOMENT O
PERSECUTION, IT WILL DO WHAT I
IS INTENDED TO DO, AND A
INSTITUTION THAT HAS ITS
PILLARS BUILT BY WHITE
SUPREMACY AND BY PATRIARCHY,
WILL STILL PRODUCE A SIMILAR
RESULT, EVEN IN THE PERSECUTIO
OF THE MINORITY.
THE TWO YOUNGEST BLACK
LAWMAKERS, THE ONE OF ONLY TWO
DEMOCRATIC WOMEN IN THE STAT
HOUSE.
SO, IN THIS MOMENT IN TIME
WHEN WE WERE ALL UP FO
EXPULSION, RACE, WHICH WER
TOLD NOT TO TALK ABOUT, --
RACE >> WE'RE TOLD RACE DOESN'
MATTER
>> RAISED AS A MATTER.
IF YOU JUST ACT LIKE US, RAC
DOESN'T MATTER, IF YOU JUST DO
WHAT WE TELL YOU TO DO, THEN
YOU'LL BE OKAY
SO, THAT RACE, AGAIN, BECAME
THE DEFINING FACTOR, BETWEEN
THE SEPARATION OF WHAT HAPPENE
TO REPRESENTATIVE JONES AND I,
AND REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSON
>> I JUST HAVE TO SAY, WE'RE
TALKING ABOUT THE PATTERNS O
AN INSTITUTION, WE ARE TALKING
ABOUT WHAT IS EMBEDDED AT TH
HEART OF AN INSTITUTION.
THERE ARE MANY MEMBERS THA
CAME BEFORE YOU THAT SAT IN TH
SEATS THAT YOU ALL SET IN.
I THINK THAT THERE'S SOM
INTERGENERATIONAL FRICTION
GOING ON
IS THAT ACCURATE
>> YES
EPRESENTATIVE JONES WILL SAY
THOUGH, I'LL SAY THIS ABOU
SOME OF THE ANCESTORS, DOCTO
COOPER, WHO'S SERVED DISTRIC
86 FOR 86 YEARS.
THERE HAVE BEEN SOME
EXTRAORDINARY FOLKS WHO HAVE
RESISTED IN THE WAYS THAT THEY
THOUGHT BEST AT THAT MOMENT IN
TIME
WHO HAVE ALLOWED US TH
OPPORTUNITY TO BE HERE
THE TRUTH IS, WE CANNO
CONTINUE TO OPERATE IN A VER
OLD WAY OF THINKING.
AND A VERY NEW MOMENT.
IN TENNESSEE, IN AMERICA
HISTORY.
IT'S VERY SIMILAR TO WHAT WE
TELL PEOPLE WHO ARE REPUBLICANS,
WHO TALK ABOUT THE IMMUTABILIT
OF THE SECOND AMENDMENT.
WE DO NOT LIVE IN 1776 WHERE W
NEED A MILITIA, YOU HAVE T
HAVE A REALITY CHECK ON WHAT
THESE RULES, WHAT THESE LAWS
MEAN IN THIS PRESENT MOMENT.
AND TO OUR COLLEAGUES IN THE
STATE HOUSE, WE DO NOT LIVE IN
THE ERA OF THE 1950'S OR 1960S
OR 19 HUNDREDS, WE HAVE TO LIV
IN THIS MOMENT
WE HAVE TO OPERATE IN THIS
MOMENT, AND ACT IN THIS MOMENT
>> WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE THE
CURRENT MEMBERS OF THE
DEMOCRATIC CAUCUS IN THE STATE
HOUSE TO DO?
>> WE HAVE TO BE HONEST ABOU
HOW THE CULTURE ON CAPITOL HIL
CLAUDE -
BUT IT'S MUCH MORE COMFORTABLE
TO CONFORM
IT'S SO INTERESTING TO ME, I
SAID, YOU ARE DISRUPTIVE IN TH
WELL THAT DAY.
>> WHO WAS THE DAY
>> THE CHARGES WERE.
THE RESOLUTION
AND THE REALITY IS, WHEN W
FIRST WALKED IN THOSE ROOMS,
THAT WAS THE DISRUPTION.
THE MOVEMENTS, THE COMMUNITIES
THE PEOPLE WE REPRESENT, THA
EMBODIMENT, THAT WAS THE
DISRUPTION TO A BODY THAT IS S
DEFINED BY WHITE SUPREMACY
PATRIARCHY, IMPLANTATION
CAPITALISM
THAT WAS THE DISRUPTION.
>> WELL, MEMBERS ON TH
NATIONAL STATE COUNCIL, AS W
SPEAK, AS WE HAVE THIS
CONVERSATION, 24 OF THEM HAV
GONE ON THE RECORD SAYING,
THEY'RE GOING TO SUPPORT
INVOKED TO SEND YOU BACK TO TH
STATE HOUSE.
AND THEY'RE GONNA VOTE O
MONDAY
ARE YOU CONFIDENT THAT YOU WIL
BE BACK IN THE STATE
LEGISLATURE NEXT WEEK?
>> I APPRECIATE THE ACT OF
SOLIDARITY FROM OUR LOCA
LEADERS, SO, I THINK THE
QUESTION THAT'S GONNA BE WIT
CAMERON SEXTON, HE SAID LAWYER
WILL TELL US IN THE CAPITAL, W
CAN'T COME BACK UNTIL THE NEXT
GENERAL ASSEMBLY, WHICH IS I
2025
>> I DON'T WANT TO MAKE SURE I
GET THIS RIGHT, THE SPEAKER OF
THE TENNESSEE STATE HOUSE --
>> HIS ATTORNEYS
>> HIS ATTORNEYS, THEY REACHED
OUT TO YOU ALL VIA YOUR --
>> THEY STATED AT THE END OF
THE RESOLUTION, YOU AR
EXPELLED FROM THE 113TH GENERA
ASSEMBLY
SO, THE ETHICS ATTORNEY STATED
YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO RETURN.
BUT THEN WE LOOKED -
WE TALK TO CONSTITUTIONA
ATTORNEYS, SO, IT SEEMED LIK
THAT CAN'T UPHOLD.
NOTHING ABOUT THIS WAS
CONSTITUTIONAL, NUMBER ONE
NOW, THEY'RE GONNA SAY AGAIN
WE'RE GONNA GO AROUND AND MAKE
UP OUR OWN RULES AS THEY'RE SO
USED TO DOING AND SAY, WE MA
TRY AND ROOM REFUSED TO STATE.
YOU >> REPRESENTATIVE PEARSON,
YOU REPRESENT MEMPHIS.
AND MEMPHIS IS NOT THE MEMPHIS
CITY COUNCIL, IT IS THE SHELBY
COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
WHO WOULD HAVE TO VOTE TO SEND
YOU BACK TO THE STATE HOUSE.
NOW, AND PC NEWS HAS NOT COM
FROM THIS, I TOLD YOU I WAS IN
THE NASHVILLE STREETS TODAY,
AND I HEARD CHATTER, AMONGST
MEMBERS OF THE STATE
LEGISLATURE, AMONGST FOLKS
LOCALLY, HERE.
PEOPLE WHO I KNOW IN MEMPHIS
WHO SAID THAT, THERE IS
CONCERN THAT IF THE SHELBY
COUNTY COMMISSIONERS DO MOVE I
SUPPORT OF YOU, THAT MEMPHIS I
350 MILLION DOLLAR ASK THAT IS
CURRENTLY BEFORE THE STATE
LEGISLATURE TO FUND A PROJEC
IN THE CITY THE CONVENTION
CENTER, --
>> STADIUM
>> THAT THEY ARE CONCERNED THA
ASK WILL BE PULLED, IT WOULD
NOT BE MET
HAVE YOU HEARD THAT?
>> I'VE DEFINITELY HEARD THA
RUMOR.
I FURTHER SOME LOBBYING BY
PEOPLE IN POSITIONS OF POWER T
MAKE THAT HAPPEN
I AM NOT SURE IF IT'S 100 AN
TRUE, NO ONE HAS TO COME AND
TOLD ME, WHAT THEY'RE ABOUT TO
DO
THE QUESTION FOR OUR COUNT
COMMISSIONERS, WHAT PRICE CA
WE BE BOUGHT FOR
I DON'T THINK THERE'S A PRIC
FOR OUR DEMOCRACY, I DON'T
THINK THERE'S A PRICE FOR OU
CITIZENS WHO WANT TO MAKE SURE
THEIR VOICES ARE HEARD, ON A
ISSUE AS IMPORTANT AS GU
VIOLENCE
RIGHT?
I REALLY BELIEVE THAT THER
WILL BE MEMBERS OF THE COUNT
COMMISSION, AND A MAJORITY O
THEM, SEVEN OF THEM, WHO WOULD
VOTE TO ENSURE DISTRICT 86
CONTINUES TO HAV
REPRESENTATION, WITH A THREA
THAT THAT IS COMING FROM SOM
FOLKS, TO TAKE AWAY FUNDING,
THIS DEALS WITH THE WAY THAT
THE STATE GOVERNMENT OPERATES.
THE BUDGETS PASSED BY THE STAT
LEGISLATURE.
AND TO BE ABLE TO CONTROL
YOUNG, BLACK REPRESENTATIVE, I
IS TO WIELD MONEY.
AS A STICK AGAINST A MAJORIT
BLACK COUNTY
FOR MAKING SURE THAT THEY HAVE
SOMEONE WHO IS REPRESENTING TH
VOICE OF THE WILL OF THE
PEOPLE
>> YOU KNOW, WE KNOW THAT WE
HAVE A RETALIATORY
ADMINISTRATION
WE ARE SEEING IT IN LEGISLATIO
AGAINST OUR MAJOR CITIES
IT'S