NASHVILLE — Two freshmen Black Democrats expelled last week by Tennessee House Republicans over a gun protest with bullhorns on the House floor spent part of their Easter Sunday on national television vowing to return while also criticizing GOP members for expelling them.
Former Reps. Justin Jones of Nashville and Justin Pearson of Memphis said in a joint appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press" they hope Metro Nashville and Shelby County commissioners will reappoint them to their seats.
A majority of Nashville council members have already stated publicly they intend to appoint Jones to his seat. Shelby County commissioners plan to meet soon.
Pearson and Jones were removed from office Thursday in response to the March 30 demonstration on the House floor, in which they rallied protesters in the gallery calling for gun restrictions in response to the killing of three 9-year-olds and three staff members at The Covenant School in Nashville.
Pearson told moderator Chuck Todd he would be honored to accept Shelby County commissioners' appointment. He also said he still plans to run in the special election to fill the seat to which he was appointed following the death of then-Rep. Barbara Cooper, also a Black Democrat.
"I've already heard that people in the state legislature and in Nashville are actually threatening our Shelby County commissioners not to appoint 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. "And this is what folks really have to realize, the power structure in the state of Tennessee is always wielding against the minority party and people."
Doug Kufner, press secretary for Republican House Speaker Cameron Sexton, said the speaker has no plans to block the Memphis funding.
"The governor has proposed $350 million for the Memphis stadiums in the budget; the speaker has been and will continue to be supportive of these projects," Kufner said in a statement. "The House hasn't entered into budget negotiations with the Senate at this time. He is hopeful the funding will remain in when the final budget is presented on both floors."
The expulsion of Jones and Pearson, which was condemned by legislative Black Caucus members, has thrust Tennessee into the national limelight on two issues — gun violence as well as concerns about the future of American democracy.
House Republicans also sought to expel a third Democratic lawmaker, Rep. Gloria Johnson of Knoxville, who is white. But that effort fell one vote short with seven GOP members voting no. Johnson told the chamber that while she joined Jones and Pearson, she did not use the bullhorn.
All three lawmakers are progressives. Jones, a veteran social justice advocate, spent years demanding a huge bronze bust of Confederate General and Ku Klux Klan founder Nathan Bedford Forrest be removed from the Capitol. It eventually was relocated after Republican Gov. Bill Lee filled panels with a say-so over the bust with new members who authorized moving the bust from its prominent perch on the Capitol's second floor near the House and Senate chambers to the state museum.
Pearson has also been active on social issues.
The day of the protest, Jones, Pearson and Johnson became frustrated that their efforts to debate gun control with fellow members of the house were repeatedly gaveled down — or their microphones were switched off. They marched to the House well. Jones and Pearson used a bullhorn to exhort packed galleries in chanting anti-gun slogans. Johnson did not use the bullhorn, according to her statements and supporting video.
Johnson has suggested that being a white woman may have helped avoid her being expelled.
House Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, told Fox News last week that is a false narrative.
"It's unfortunate, she's trying to put political racism in this, which there was nothing on this," he said.
Republicans have pointed out that top House Democrats, among them Minority Leader Karen Camper, a Black Memphis lawmaker, weren't happy with the floor disruption.
Sexton initially referred to the protest, which halted House proceedings for some 40 minutes, as "insurrection" in a radio interview, likening the protest to the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot. Sexton later said his remarks were aimed at Jones, Pearson and Johnson, not at protesters, which included children, teens, parents and others who packed House galleries and the hall outside the chamber.
"What they did was try to hold up the people's business on the House floor instead of doing it the way that they should have done it, which they have the means to do," Sexton said at the time. "They actually thought that they would be arrested, and so they decided that them being a victim was more important than focusing on the six victims from Monday. And that's appalling."
Democratic President Joe Biden spoke with Jones and Pearson by video last week.
Vice President Kamala Harris came to Nashville, where she met with Jones, Pearson and Johnson. Harris said the trio showed courage in pushing for gun reform following the mass shooting.
Rep. Yusuf Hakeem, D-Chattanooga, one of two Black Democrats from East Tennessee, said in a Saturday phone interview that Republicans' actions to expel Jones and Pearson made them martyrs in the view of many and drew national attention.
"Without a doubt, the manner that this legislature has handled this process makes them national figures, and it's something opposite that many people in the majority did not want," Hakeem told the Chattanooga Times Free Press. "In my view, the Republican Party in the state of Tennessee brought this on itself."
Jones said he was glad to hear from both Biden and Harris.
"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, that the Tennessee House Republicans' attempt to try to crucify democracy has instead resurrected a movement led by young people to restore our democracy to build a multiracial coalition," he said on "Meet the Press."
Pearson had been told by House leaders not to wear a dashiki, a loose-fitting African shirt, on the House floor on grounds that suits and ties were required.
"When we try to talk about the issue of mass shootings that plague our community, we were silenced," he said. "And all they offer our community were moments of silence, in fact. Empty thoughts and prayers, and that our community deserves more than that.
"There's always been a toxic work environment to work in the Tennessee state Capitol, where you have people who make comments about hanging you on a tree and hanging Black people on a tree as a form of capital punishment," he said.
That was a reference to comments made last month by Rep. Paul Sherrell, R-Sparta, on a bill that would allow death row inmates to choose a firing squad option suggesting "hanging by a tree" could be added to a bill concerning methods of execution in the state.
Democrats likened the proposal, which wasn't adopted, to 19th and 20th century lynchings of Black men.
During this year's session, Democrats have been pushing for bills requiring gun owners to safely store their firearms in their vehicles or boats. Violations would be a low-level misdemeanor, the only consequence being they would be required to take a firearms safety course.
Democrats are now talking about including another provision for an "extreme risk provision" known as a "red flag" law to prevent people with mental illness from possessing guns, considering the shooter at The Covenant School had a history of mental illness.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Todd Gardenhire, R-Chattanooga, however, moved last week to move until next year all remaining gun bills, both to expand firearm carry provisions or place new restrictions on them.
Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, the Republican Senate speaker from Oak Ridge, later said he is open to discussing the extreme risk provision but has not committed to pressing it.
Contact Andy Sher at asher@timesfreepress.com or 615-285-9480.