Black politicians Justin Pearson and Justin Jones, who became Democratic party heroes as members of the “Tennessee Three,” reclaimed their legislative seats on Thursday (August 3) after they were expelled for involvement in a gun control protest on the House floor.

Black politicians Justin Pearson and Justin Jones, who became Democratic party heroes as members of the “Tennessee Three,” reclaimed their legislative seats on Thursday (August 3) after they were expelled for involvement in a gun control protest on the House floor. Pearson and Jones were reinstated by local officials after they were booted from the Statehouse, Associated Press reported. They advanced through a special election to fully reclaim their positions. Both faced opponents in districts that heavily favour Democrats and easily defeated them. Jones faced Republican candidate Laura Nelson. Pearson, meanwhile, faced independent candidate Jeff Johnston. 'Victory after victory after victory' Speaking to supporters, Pearson said, "I think if we keep running this race, there will be victory after victory after victory.” The Democrat stressed his victory was largely possible due to Black women and the organising work they had done to make him and other politicians successful. Jones and Pearson were elected to the Statehouse in 2022. And Thursday's special election came as lawmakers are preparing to return to Nashville later in August for a special session to address possibly changing the state’s gun control laws. While the re-election of Jones and Pearson would not make a significant dent in the Republican supermajority inside the legislature, they are expected to push back heavily against some of their GOP colleagues’ policies, the Associated Press report said. The earlier expulsion: What happened? During this spring, the two lawmakers joined Democrat Gloria Johnson in a protest for more gun control on the House floor. The protest happened days after a shooting at a private school in Nashville killed three children and three adults. As thousands of protesters flooded the Capitol building to demand that the Republican supermajority enact some sort of restrictions on firearms, Johnson, Jones, and Pearson approached the front of the House chamber with a bullhorn and joined the protesters’ chants and cries for action. Republican lawmakers quickly declared that their actions violated House rules and moved to expel their three colleagues. Johnson, who is white, avoided expulsion while Pearson and Jones were booted from the Statehouse. The expulsions drew national support for the newly dubbed “Tennessee Three,”, especially for Pearson and Jones’ campaign fundraising. House Republican leaders have repeatedly denied that race was a factor in the expulsions. However, Democrats have disagreed, with Johnson countering that the only reason that she wasn’t expelled was due to her being white. (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

African American lawmakers Justin Pearson, Justin Jones reclaim their legislative seats

A county commission in Tennessee voted to send Justin Pearson, a democratic lawmaker, back to the state's legislature. He, and another colleague, Justin Jones, both of whom are black, were expelled by republican lawmakers last Thursday. In a rare rebuke last week, republicans, who control the state house of representatives, voted to kick out Jones & Pearson. Pearson & Jones demanded restrictions on firearms in the wake of a deadly mass shooting at an elementary school in the city of Nashville.

Justine Pearson: You can't expel hope, can't expel our voice

Justin Pearson, second expelled lawmaker, reinstated to Tennessee House

One of the two recently ousted Democratic party lawmakers, Justin Jones, in Tennessee, United States has been reappointed to fill his vacant seat on an interim basis, on Monday (April 10) after a vote. The two young Black lawmakers were expelled, while the third Democrat, Gloria Johnson avoided expulsion by a single vote, last week after they staged a rule-breaking demonstration for gun control on the Republican-controlled statehouse floor.&nbsp;

Nashville city council votes to recently ousted lawmaker

The Metropolitan Council of Nashville and Davidson County held a vote to reinstate Jones, who on Thursday had become the first state representative ever to be expelled from the statehouse for violating the chamber’s rules on decorum without an investigation or accusations of serious misconduct. The vote which was held during a special session of the council saw unanimous support with a 36-0.&nbsp;

Addressing the state House of Representatives, on Monday, after being reinstated, Jones said, “I want to welcome the people back to the people’s house. I want to welcome democracy back to the people’s house.” Jones, who had been elected to Tennessee’s House of Representatives last year, has been appointed again as the interim representative.&nbsp;

ALSO READ |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-vp-harris-backs-ousted-lawmakers-in-tennessee-criticises-republicans-for-expulsion-580344">US VP Kamala Harris backs ousted lawmakers in Tennessee, criticises Republicans for expulsion</a>

Previously, both Nashville lawmaker Jones and Memphis lawmaker Justin Pearson, his Black Democratic colleague who was also expelled, had vowed to return to the statehouse.&nbsp;Memphis Board of Commissioners is expected to vote on Wednesday which would decide if Pearson would be allowed to temporarily regain his seat. Meanwhile, the duo has said that they will also contest in special elections in the coming months to permanently fill the seats.

Protests outside the Tennessee Statehouse

During the Metro Council vote, there were around 600 protesters gathered outside to show their support for Jones, waving signs and chanting “Whose house? Our house!” and “No Justin, no peace”, a play on the civil rights slogan, “No justice, no peace,” reported Al-Jazeera.&nbsp;

ALSO READ |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-gun-violence-protests-tennessee-house-expels-two-black-democrats-spares-white-lawmaker-580142">US: Tennessee House expels two Black Democrats for gun violence protests, spares White lawmaker</a>

After the vote, those chants turned to cheers of “Welcome home!”. Jones returned after being sworn in on the steps of the state capitol surrounded by supporters on Monday evening.&nbsp;

‘Tennessee Three’

On March 30, three lawmakers from the Democratic Party, Jones, Pearson, and Gloria Johnson staged a protest and were ousted from the Republican-controlled statehouse, saying that the trio had brought “disorder and dishonour to the House”. The two young Black lawmakers were expelled, while the third Democrat, Johnson avoided expulsion by a single vote.&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)&nbsp; 
 
&nbsp;

WATCH WION LIVE HERE

<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="350" loading="”lazy”" src="https://www.wionews.com/live-tv/embed?autoplay=1&amp;mute=1" width="100%"></iframe>

You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us <a href="https://www.wionews.com/content-contribution-registration-form">here</a>.

One of the two recently ousted Democratic party lawmakers, Justin Jones, in Tennessee, United States has been reappointed to fill his vacant seat on an interim basis, on Monday (April 10) after a vote.

One of the two recently ousted Democratic party lawmakers, Justin Jones, in Tennessee, United States has been reappointed to fill his vacant seat on an interim basis, on Monday (April 10) after a vote. The two young Black lawmakers were expelled, while the third Democrat, Gloria Johnson avoided expulsion by a single vote, last week after they staged a rule-breaking demonstration for gun control on the Republican-controlled statehouse floor. Nashville city council votes to recently ousted lawmaker The Metropolitan Council of Nashville and Davidson County held a vote to reinstate Jones, who on Thursday had become the first state representative ever to be expelled from the statehouse for violating the chamber’s rules on decorum without an investigation or accusations of serious misconduct. The vote which was held during a special session of the council saw unanimous support with a 36-0. Addressing the state House of Representatives, on Monday, after being reinstated, Jones said, “I want to welcome the people back to the people’s house. I want to welcome democracy back to the people’s house.” Jones, who had been elected to Tennessee’s House of Representatives last year, has been appointed again as the interim representative. ALSO READ | US VP Kamala Harris backs ousted lawmakers in Tennessee, criticises Republicans for expulsion Previously, both Nashville lawmaker Jones and Memphis lawmaker Justin Pearson, his Black Democratic colleague who was also expelled, had vowed to return to the statehouse. Memphis Board of Commissioners is expected to vote on Wednesday which would decide if Pearson would be allowed to temporarily regain his seat. Meanwhile, the duo has said that they will also contest in special elections in the coming months to permanently fill the seats. Protests outside the Tennessee Statehouse During the Metro Council vote, there were around 600 protesters gathered outside to show their support for Jones, waving signs and chanting “Whose house? Our house!” and “No Justin, no peace”, a play on the civil rights slogan, “No justice, no peace,” reported Al-Jazeera. ALSO READ | US: Tennessee House expels two Black Democrats for gun violence protests, spares White lawmaker After the vote, those chants turned to cheers of “Welcome home!”. Jones returned after being sworn in on the steps of the state capitol surrounded by supporters on Monday evening. ‘Tennessee Three’ On March 30, three lawmakers from the Democratic Party, Jones, Pearson, and Gloria Johnson staged a protest and were ousted from the Republican-controlled statehouse, saying that the trio had brought “disorder and dishonour to the House”. The two young Black lawmakers were expelled, while the third Democrat, Johnson avoided expulsion by a single vote. (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

US: Tennessee lawmaker, Justin Jones reinstated days after expulsion

A huge win for gun-control advocates in Nashville, Tennessee, after ousted lawmaker Justin Jones was reinstated to the state house of representatives. Jones along with another black legislator, staged a gun control protest on the house floor last week, prompting their expulsion.

Tennessee representative Justin Jones reinstated after house expulsion over gun control protest

US gun violence has stoked widespread protests across the United States in recent days, after as many as 9,800 people reportedly died due to gun violence in just the first three months of 2023, a figure that also includes self-inflicted deaths by suicide apart from regular acts of mass gun violence.

US gun violence has stoked widespread protests across the United States in recent days, after as many as 9,800 people reportedly died due to gun violence in just the first three months of 2023, a figure that also includes self-inflicted deaths by suicide apart from regular acts of mass gun violence. Last week, three Democratic Party politicians led a gun control protest at the Tennessee Capitol, calling for tighter gun controls after the Nashville school shooting on March 27. Both Democrat lawmakers, Justin Jones and Justin Pearson were expelled from Tennessee statehouse on Thursday (April 6). The Republican-controlled house said that the trio had brought "disorder and dishonour to the House". The Republican-controlled House of Representatives voted 72-25 to expel Justin Jones and 69-26 to remove Justin Pearson. However, the vote against a third Democratic lawmaker, Gloria Johnson, a white person, who also joined the protest with Jones and Pearson, fell short by one vote. "A state in which the Ku Klux Klan was founded is now attempting another power grab by silencing the two youngest Black representatives," Justin Jones said after the votes, referring to the 19th century white supremacist group which targeted Black Americans, Jews, Native Americans and homosexuals with an explicit racist overdrive. ALSO WATCH | 2 Democrats expelled from Tennessee house for protesting against gun laws × Jones told BBC News that an "extreme Republican supermajority, almost completely a white caucus" had expelled the "two youngest black lawmakers because we stood demanding action on gun violence". The March 27 attack at a Nashville School killed six people, including three nine-year-old children. The three Democrat lawmakers, dubbed "Tennessee Three", took to the Tennessee House floor, chanting "no action, no peace" during a protest on March 30. The protest saw hundreds of pro-gun control demonstrators coming in front of the statehouse, demanding strict gun controls. Jones, 27, and Pearson, 28, the two youngest members of the legislature, used a megaphone and banged the House lectern as they made rousing speeches and addressed the protesters who crowded around the chamber's public viewing platform. "We don't want to be up here, but we have no choice but to find a way... to disrupt business as normal, because business as normal is our children dying," Pearson said. All three also chanted "enough is enough" and "power to the people". US President Joe Biden, a Democrat, slammed the expulsions as "shocking, undemocratic, and without precedent". In Tennessee, the House of Representatives has only twice voted to expel members, first in 1980 when a lawmaker convicted of soliciting a bribe was removed and then in 2016, when a lawmaker facing accusations of sexual misconduct was removed. People in the United States own more guns than anywhere else in the world. According to a 2018 report by Geneva-based Small Arms Survey, US gun owners own 393.3 million weapons, translating into 120.5 firearms per 100 residents. (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

US: Tennessee House expels two Black Democrats for gun violence protests, spares White lawmaker

justin-jones

Justin Jones, News on Justin Jones, stories on Justin Jones, articles on Justin Jones, Justin Jones stories at Wion, Justin Jones news, Justin Jones latest news