As you probably know by now, Republicans used their supermajority in the Tennessee legislature to expel two Democratic lawmakers - Justin Pearson and Justin Jones - for leading a gun control protest in the legislature in the wake of last month's school shooting in Nashville which claimed the lives of 6 people including 3 children.
Republicans failed to oust a third Democrat Gloria Johnson by a single vote. It ought to be noted that Johnson is white while Pearson and Jones are African-American. Needless to say, there must remain a suspicion race played a role in their expulsion.
It must be further noted that Tennessee Republicans have been far more lenient to other lawmakers who have committed crimes including sexual misconduct. On top of that, the Speaker of the Tennessee legislature saw fit to compare the pair's behavior to that of insurrectionists on January 6th. Somehow, if Messrs. Pearson and Jones had claimed Donald Trump won the 2020 election or had visited January 6th defendants in jail then they probably would still have their jobs.
What Republicans have done is succeeded in turning Pearson and Jones into martyrs. Their profile will be raised exponentially, and their voters will enthusiastically re-elect them to their old seats. The question then is would the Republican supermajority refuse to seat them. At this point, I put nothing past Republicans in this regard as they disregard the will of the people when it is contrary to their own.
In the meantime, one wonders if Pearson and Jones will seek relief from the courts to get their jobs back. One must further wonder if the protests will turn from gun control to representative democracy.
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