The Tennessee House of Representatives voted 72-25 Thursday to expel Democrat Justin Jones, who led a Friday protest for tighter gun-control measures after a shooter opened fire on a Christian grade school the killer once attended.
“It’s morally insane that a week after a mass shooting took six lives in our community, House Republicans' only response is to expel us for standing with our constituents to call for gun control,” Rep. Justin Jones tweeted Monday.
After his expulsion, Jones told supporters “this isn’t about me” and vowed to continue advocating for gun safety measures.
Jones, who found himself on the chopping block alongside fellow Democrats Gloria Johnson and Justin Pearson, made his way to the House floor while lawmakers were meeting Friday. He called Thursday’s vote to oust elected officials “a clear danger to democracy all across this nation.”
Johnson survived efforts to expel her when a 65-30 vote fell just short of the two-thirds majority necessary to remove an elected House official. Pearson’s fate was yet to be determined early Thursday evening.
Republican House Speaker Cameron Sexton said the three Democrats in question, including Jones — who shouted through a bullhorn during the demonstration — violated “several rules of decorum and procedure on the House floor” during their demonstration. Republicans control the House in Tennessee.
Democrats believe legislators should be proactive in taking measures to keep guns out of the hands of school shooters, like the one who killed three 9-year-old students and three adults at The Covenant School in Nashville on March 27.
U.S. Congressman Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., added to Democrats’ frustration last week by saying gun control measures aren’t on the negotiating table as far as he’s concerned.
“We’re not gonna’ fix it,” Burchett told reporters the day after the massacre. “Criminals are gonna be criminals.”
Only twice since the Civil War era have Tennessee Representatives expelled one of their own, according to Reuters. One member of the State House was booted for soliciting a bribe in 1980 and another was kicked out following multiple accusations of sexual misconduct.
Demonstrators gathered in Nashville Thursday to support representatives Johnson, Pearson and Jones.
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