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The second of two legislators ousted from the Tennessee legislature after leading gun control protests has been reinstated.
29-year-old Justin Pearson regained his seat by unanimous vote of seven members of the Shelby County Commission.
His colleague Justin Jones, 27, was similarly voted for the Tennessee House of Representatives on Monday.
Two Democrats were ousted last week by the Republican-run state house.
They were taken away days after a school shooting in Nashville that killed six people, including three children.
Speaking to the crowd after Wednesday’s vote, Pearson said: to fight. “
The Shelby County Commission, made up mostly of Democrats, sent young representatives back to the State Capitol to represent the 86th House District, which includes Memphis.
Pearson and Jones will serve as interim representatives.
A special election is due in the next few months, and both lawmakers said they were planning to run.
Shelby County Commissioner Mikel Rowley said in an interview, “I think it’s important that the people of District 86 are represented by the person who voted in the overwhelming majority.
Before Wednesday’s vote, Mr. Pearson led a march starting at the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis.
“This is a democracy trying to lift victims of gun violence instead of supporting the NRA and gun lobbyists,” he told supporters.
Republicans accused three Democrats, Pearson, Jones and Gloria Johnson, of bringing “disorder and dishonor” to Congress when they led protesters at the state capitol on March 30. .
Johnson narrowly survived the ouster vote. The Republican said her role in the protest was small and she didn’t use a megaphone.Ms Johnson, who is white, offered a different explanation. “It may have something to do with our skin color,” she said.
Mr. Pearson and Mr. Jones are black.
A group of Senate Democrats called on the Justice Department to investigate the expulsions of Pearson and Jones and “determine whether any violations of the U.S. Constitution or federal civil rights law have occurred.”
The letter was signed by Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock.
Nashville Mayor John Cooper, who attended the city council on behalf of Mr. Jones on Monday, said the eviction vote was “unprecedented.”
“Let’s give the district their voice back. I’m calling this agency to get their voice back now,” he said.
Mr. Jones and Mr. Pearson represent approximately 140,000 voters in the state.
Some voters told BBC News they felt disenfranchised by the vote to oust the pair known as Justin.
President Joe Biden also criticized the move as “undemocratic.”
The use of banishment in the Tennessee legislature had only been used twice since the Civil War.
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