POLITICS
Can the two expelled Tennessee lawmakers be re-elected in Nashville?
Justin Pearson and Justin Jones say they are planning to run again in the same seats they were barred from after an anti-gun protest in the legislature.
Republican measures to bring down to black Tennessee state legislators look like they could backfire and they could be returning to their district seats with a vengeance. Justin Pearson and Justin Jones were expelled last week by the Republican super majority for standing up against gun violence but look likely to return to their seats in a temporary capacity.
They spoke to NBC’s ‘Meet the Press’ to explain the situation.
“Our voters have been disenfranchised,” Pearson said. “This is one of the greatest tactics of voter disenfranchisement and voter oppression that I have ever witnessed. It is not only unprecedented - it is historical in nature.”
County commissioners in Nashville need to appoint temporary replacements with the expectation being that Jones and Pearson will retain their positions before elections next year. There are worries from the pair that Republicans are attempting to disrupt the process.
“I’ve already heard that people in the state Legislature and in Nashville are actually threatening our Shelby County commissioners: Do not reappoint me or they’re going to take away funding that’s in the governor’s budget for projects that the mayor and others have asked for,” Pearson said.
If Jones and Pearson were to be readmitted, Tennessee state law indicates they cannot be punished by the legislature again for the same offence.
Why were the two legislators sacked?
A mass school shooting on 27 March left six people dead, including three nine-year olds, caused a wave of protests against easy access to firearms in the state. One such protest took place in the state legislature which included Jones, Pearson, and white legislator Gloria Johnson.
Republicans in the state house voted to expel the two black legislators, though not Pearson. The resolutions against the two stated as the reasoning for the expulsion was that they “did knowingly and intentionally bring disorder and dishonor” and “engaged in disorderly and disruptive conduct.”
Since then there has been a wave of support for the legislators with President Joe Biden hosting them in a video call from the White House last week.
“I think the most resounding message we’re hearing from the White House, and across the world and people across this nation, is that this attack on democracy will not go on unchallenged,” Jones said.