[ad_1]
(CNN) The Tennessee House of Representatives will vote Thursday to remove three Democrats who blared loudspeakers on the floor and demanded gun reform following last month’s Nashville school shooting. It’s a schedule.
Three resolutions put forward by GOP lawmakers on Monday call for the expulsion of Rep. Gloria Johnson of Knoxville, Rep. Justin Jones of Nashville and Rep. Justin Pearson of Memphis.
Three lawmakers led protests in the House of Commons after the deaths of three 9-year-old children and three adults, CNN affiliate WSMV reported. The March 27 shooting at The Covenant School, a private Christian school.
“A week after a mass shooting claimed six precious lives here in my community in Nashville, the first action of my colleagues across the aisle was to curb the spread of this weapon of war. It’s morally insane not to take action on behalf of the voters, but it’s to expel their colleagues who stand with our voters,” Jones told “CNN This Morning” Wednesday. rice field.
“This is not just about losing my job,” he added, adding that the three representative voters were “caught and silenced by parties that act like authoritarians.”
Since the 1860s, only two members have been ousted by the House of Representatives. In 1980, a lawmaker was convicted of accepting bribes while in office, and in 2016 another lawmaker was deposed on charges of sexual harassment.
House Republican Speaker Cameron Sexton said this week that the actions of the three Democrats “are and will not be acceptable,” breaking “several rules of courtesy and procedure in the House.”
Sexton said peaceful protesters have always been welcome to the Capitol to be heard on all issues, but the actions of Democratic lawmakers undermine that process.
“In effect, these actions have robbed protesters of their voice and attention to the six victims who lost their lives and their families who lost loved ones,” Sexton said. said in a series of tweets on Monday.
“We cannot allow the actions of our three members to distract us from protecting our children. We will get through this together. All solutions must be discussed.” said Sexton.
Each resolution said lawmakers “deliberately brought confusion and disgrace to the House” and “began yelling without recognition” and “continued to disrupt the proceedings of the House” for less than an hour Thursday morning. said.
The resolution seeks to remove legislators under Section 2, Section 12 of the Tennessee Constitution, and the House would set its own rules to “penalize the disorderly conduct of legislators, Get – 1/3 and expel the member.”
Republicans have an overwhelming majority in the Tennessee House of Representatives, with 75 seats versus 23 Democrats, with one seat vacant.
The law allows interim members of the House of Representatives to be appointed until the disqualified seats are filled by election.
On Tuesday, Pearson publicly shared a letter he sent to congressmen, blaming him for “disobedience” in the House while defending his actions.
“My peaceful and civilized entry into the House of Representatives was not a rebellion,” Pearson said. I wanted to respond,” Pearson wrote. An image of the letter he shared on Instagram.
“For this House to exercise our sacred First Amendment right to raise the voices of our communities who want us to act to prevent gun violence. If you decide to expel me, do as you think you must.
House Democrats expressed solidarity with Johnson, Jones and Pearson in a statement, while Rep. Sam MacKenzie of the Black Caucus of Tennessee called the move “political retaliation.”
Mackenzie said he would “fundamentally oppose any attempt to expel a member for speaking out to end gun violence.”
The move to expel the legislator also drew condemnation from Tennessee’s American Civil Liberties Union, whose executive director, Kathy Singbach, called the expulsion an “extreme measure.”
“Instead of rushing to oust lawmakers for expressing ethical beliefs on important social issues, House leaders should focus on solving the real challenges facing the state,” Singbach said. ‘ said.
[ad_2]
Source link