On Thursday, Vice President Joe Biden lashed out at Republicans in Tennessee for voting to kick out of the state House of Representatives two Democratic members who had taken part in a rowdy demonstration at the state Capitol.
After a shooting at a Nashville, Tennessee, private Christian school that claimed the lives of three staff members and three 9-year-old students, the body that is controlled by the Republican Party voted to expel Democratic Representatives Justin Jones and Justin Pearson for “disorderly behavior.”
President Biden calls Tennessee House Republicans’ expulsion of 2 Democrats’shocking, undemocratic, and without precedent’.
This extraordinary action was taken after Jones and Pearson stormed the Capitol building with anti-gun protesters following the tragedy. Rep. Gloria Johnson, a third Democrat, was only one vote away from being booted out of the party as well.
Although members of state legislatures technically have the ability to be expelled, this severe sanction is normally reserved for cases of really significant wrongdoing. President Biden condemned Republican lawmakers for using their power against lawmakers who, he said, were standing in solidarity with the 7,000 students and families who had marched on the state capitol to demand gun control legislation. Those students and families had marched on the capitol to demand that legislation be passed to restrict access to firearms.
“Today’s expulsion of parliamentarians who engaged in nonviolent protest is startling, undemocratic, and without precedent,” stated Biden. “It is my hope that this will not become a precedent for future expulsions.” “These Republican lawmakers have decided, rather than debating the merits of the matter, to penalize, muzzle, and eject legitimately elected representatives of the people of Tennessee,”
The president concluded his statement by issuing a call to federal and state lawmakers “to act on commonsense gun safety reforms.” These reforms include a ban on “assault weapons with high capacity magazines,” universal background checks, making gun manufacturers liable for mass shootings, and a number of other measures.
A week ago, a group of people advocating for stricter gun control yelled back and forth from the gallery as three Democratic politicians were speaking from the chamber floor.
On the House floor, Jones could be seen leading cries of “no justice, no peace.” Jones had taken a megaphone with him.
The Republican majority removed three Democrats of their committee assignments in retaliation before voting to expel them.
Republicans defended their actions as necessary to avoid establishing a precedent that would permit legislators to impede House proceedings through protests.
Before Wednesday’s vote, Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton told Fox News’ Bill Hemmer, “I want everyone to know that this has nothing to do with the protest outside the House chamber or the demonstrations outside the Capitol.”
This is about the actions of these three members on the House floor, how they shut us down and led demonstrations from the House chamber to the balcony “He proceeded.
The expelled Democrats accused Republicans of attempting to undermine democracy.
“We are shedding our democratic institutions. That is not typical. This is improper, “Pearson told the media. All three “We violated a House rule because we are fighting for children killed by gun violence and for those in our communities who want an end to the proliferation of weapons. Which results in our expulsion? This is not a democratic system