Across the country, the illogical priorities of the right have become more and more glaring. And nowhere is this worse than in Tennessee, where conservatives have banned books and drag shows but have done nothing to protect kids from what is now their most likely cause of death: gun violence. Instead of addressing this crisis, after the mass shooting at a private elementary school in Nashville on March 27, the Republican-led legislature expelled from its chamber two Black freshman Democrats in their 20s — Reps. Justin Pearson and Justin Jones — for daring to demand commonsense gun control.
That this was a partisan act, a racist act and an anti-democratic act is undeniable. But it was also a desperate and ultimately futile act, one that could lead to positive change in the future.
Nothing could be more revealing of the fragility of the GOP than these expulsions. Republican legislators could have engaged with Pearson and Jones on the issues, but instead they chose to deploy the one weapon at their disposal: a House supermajority that would do their bidding. It was a battle they won in a contest they’re increasingly losing with the wider public.
