This measure would denounce the actions of the Tennessee House of Representatives in expelling two African-American Democratic Representatives.

This measure would denounce the actions of the Tennessee House of Representatives in expelling two African-American Democratic Representatives.

This measure would denounce the actions of the Tennessee House of Representatives in expelling two African-American Democratic Representatives.

WHEREAS, On March 27, 2023, a shooting occurred at The Covenant School, a private religious school in Nashville, Tennessee that resulted in the death of three nine-year old children, Evelyn Dieckhaus, William Kinney, Hallie Scruggs, and three staff members, Katherine Koonce (60), Cynthia Peak (61), and Mike Hill (61); and

WHEREAS, News of this tragedy devastated many people and started a movement to highlight a persistent issue in this nation: gun violence and mass shootings; and

WHEREAS, More than 1,000 peaceful protesters rallied around Tennessees State Capitol on March 30, 2023, calling for more restrictive gun laws and gun control. The rally then made its way to the Capitol Floor; and

WHEREAS, Three Democratic members of Tennessee House of Representatives, Gloria Johnson, Justin Pearson, and Justin Jones were threatened to be expelled from office for their roles in the protest; and

WHEREAS, On April 6, 2023, the Tennessee House of Representatives voted on whether or not these three Representatives should stay in office after it was determined that they violated decorum. Of these three Representatives, Justin Pearson and Justin Jones, who are African-American, were expelled; and

WHEREAS, The only Democratic Representative to be exonerated after the initial resolution was passed was Gloria Johnson, who said, It might have something to do with the color of our skin; and

WHEREAS, The expulsion of Pearson and Jones was undemocratic. The resolutions to expel the Democratic Representatives were filed by three Republican Representatives, Andrew Farmer, Gino Bulso, and Bud Hulsey; and

WHEREAS, The expulsion of the Representatives caused national uproar. Vice President Kamala Harris said on Friday, April 7, 2023, that the state Houses act wasnt about the three Democrats. Its about whose voices they were channeling. Understand that; and

WHEREAS, The actions of the Tennessee Legislature were further unjust because the Constitution allows for freedom of speech and freedom of protest, rights that the Representatives were penalized for exercising; and

WHEREAS, President Joe Biden thanked the three Democratic Representatives for their leadership. In an earlier statement on Thursday, April 6, 2023, President Biden called the expulsions shocking, undemocratic, and without precedent. Rather than debating the merits of the issue [of gun control], these Republican lawmakers have chosen to punish, silence, and expel duly-elected Representatives of the people of Tennessee, the President said; and

WHEREAS, Issues that the Representatives were protesting continue to be a prevalent problem in this country. We are suffering from a mass shooting epidemic. We continuously have to mourn the loss of babies, children, adults, and the elderly. Enough is enough; and

WHEREAS, Representatives Johnson, Pearson, and Jones were within their rights to testify in favor of tighter gun control measures; and

WHEREAS, Under the Tennessee Constitution, Section 27 of Article 2, any member of either House of the general Assembly, has liberty to dissent from, and protest against, any act or resolve which they may think is injurious to the public or to any individual, and to have the reasons for their dissent entered on the journals; and

WHEREAS, We reside in a nation where our constitutional rights ought to be guaranteed, but despite our best efforts, we continue to experience the same issues that others have struggled to resolve. These recurring concerns were fought for by civil rights leaders such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Thurgood Marshall, and Rosa Parks; and

WHEREAS, The actions of the Tennessee House of Representatives threaten our democracy and nation because injustices like this one continue to be committed; and

WHEREAS, We as a nation should fear that other states will follow in the steps of Tennessee, and remaining silent could perpetuate the same issues of injustice. As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. proclaimed, A time comes when silence is betrayal; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Assembly and the Senate of the State of California, jointly, That the California Legislature joins in denouncing the actions of the Tennessee House of Representatives during the week of April 3 to April 6, 2023, in expelling two African-American Democratic Representatives for no justifiable reason; and be it further

Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.

WHEREAS, On March 27, 2023, a shooting occurred at The Covenant School, a private religious school in Nashville, Tennessee that resulted in the death of three nine-year old children, Evelyn Dieckhaus, William Kinney, Hallie Scruggs, and three staff members, Katherine Koonce (60), Cynthia Peak (61), and Mike Hill (61); and

WHEREAS, News of this tragedy devastated many people and started a movement to highlight a persistent issue in this nation: gun violence and mass shootings; and

WHEREAS, More than 1,000 peaceful protesters rallied around Tennessees State Capitol on March 30, 2023, calling for more restrictive gun laws and gun control. The rally then made its way to the Capitol Floor; and

WHEREAS, Three Democratic members of Tennessee House of Representatives, Gloria Johnson, Justin Pearson, and Justin Jones were threatened to be expelled from office for their roles in the protest; and

WHEREAS, On April 6, 2023, the Tennessee House of Representatives voted on whether or not these three Representatives should stay in office after it was determined that they violated decorum. Of these three Representatives, Justin Pearson and Justin Jones, who are African-American, were expelled; and

WHEREAS, The only Democratic Representative to be exonerated after the initial resolution was passed was Gloria Johnson, who said, It might have something to do with the color of our skin; and

WHEREAS, The expulsion of Pearson and Jones was undemocratic. The resolutions to expel the Democratic Representatives were filed by three Republican Representatives, Andrew Farmer, Gino Bulso, and Bud Hulsey; and

WHEREAS, The expulsion of the Representatives caused national uproar. Vice President Kamala Harris said on Friday, April 7, 2023, that the state Houses act wasnt about the three Democrats. Its about whose voices they were channeling. Understand that; and

WHEREAS, The actions of the Tennessee Legislature were further unjust because the Constitution allows for freedom of speech and freedom of protest, rights that the Representatives were penalized for exercising; and

WHEREAS, President Joe Biden thanked the three Democratic Representatives for their leadership. In an earlier statement on Thursday, April 6, 2023, President Biden called the expulsions shocking, undemocratic, and without precedent. Rather than debating the merits of the issue [of gun control], these Republican lawmakers have chosen to punish, silence, and expel duly-elected Representatives of the people of Tennessee, the President said; and

WHEREAS, Issues that the Representatives were protesting continue to be a prevalent problem in this country. We are suffering from a mass shooting epidemic. We continuously have to mourn the loss of babies, children, adults, and the elderly. Enough is enough; and

WHEREAS, Representatives Johnson, Pearson, and Jones were within their rights to testify in favor of tighter gun control measures; and

WHEREAS, Under the Tennessee Constitution, Section 27 of Article 2, any member of either House of the general Assembly, has liberty to dissent from, and protest against, any act or resolve which they may think is injurious to the public or to any individual, and to have the reasons for their dissent entered on the journals; and

WHEREAS, We reside in a nation where our constitutional rights ought to be guaranteed, but despite our best efforts, we continue to experience the same issues that others have struggled to resolve. These recurring concerns were fought for by civil rights leaders such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Thurgood Marshall, and Rosa Parks; and

WHEREAS, The actions of the Tennessee House of Representatives threaten our democracy and nation because injustices like this one continue to be committed; and

WHEREAS, We as a nation should fear that other states will follow in the steps of Tennessee, and remaining silent could perpetuate the same issues of injustice. As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. proclaimed, A time comes when silence is betrayal; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Assembly and the Senate of the State of California, jointly, That the California Legislature joins in denouncing the actions of the Tennessee House of Representatives during the week of April 3 to April 6, 2023, in expelling two African-American Democratic Representatives for no justifiable reason; and be it further

Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.

WHEREAS, On March 27, 2023, a shooting occurred at The Covenant School, a private religious school in Nashville, Tennessee that resulted in the death of three nine-year old children, Evelyn Dieckhaus, William Kinney, Hallie Scruggs, and three staff members, Katherine Koonce (60), Cynthia Peak (61), and Mike Hill (61).

WHEREAS, News of this tragedy devastated many people and started a movement to highlight a persistent issue in this nation: gun violence and mass shootings.

WHEREAS, More than 1,000 peaceful protesters rallied around Tennessees State Capitol on March 30, 2023, calling for more restrictive gun laws and gun control. The rally then made its way to the Capitol Floor.

WHEREAS, Three Democratic members of Tennessee House of Representatives, Gloria Johnson, Justin Pearson, and Justin Jones were threatened to be expelled from office for their roles in the protest.

WHEREAS, On April 6, 2023, the Tennessee House of Representatives voted on whether or not these three Representatives should stay in office after it was determined that they violated decorum. Of these three Representatives, Justin Pearson and Justin Jones, who are African-American, were expelled.

WHEREAS, The only Democratic Representative to be exonerated after the initial resolution was passed was Gloria Johnson, who said, It might have something to do with the color of our skin.

WHEREAS, The expulsion of Pearson and Jones was undemocratic. The resolutions to expel the Democratic Representatives were filed by three Republican Representatives, Andrew Farmer, Gino Bulso, and Bud Hulsey.

WHEREAS, The expulsion of the Representatives caused national uproar. Vice President Kamala Harris said on Friday, April 7, 2023, that the state Houses act wasnt about the three Democrats. Its about whose voices they were channeling. Understand that.

WHEREAS, The actions of the Tennessee Legislature were further unjust because the Constitution allows for freedom of speech and freedom of protest, rights that the Representatives were penalized for exercising.

WHEREAS, President Joe Biden thanked the three Democratic Representatives for their leadership. In an earlier statement on Thursday, April 6, 2023, President Biden called the expulsions shocking, undemocratic, and without precedent. Rather than debating the merits of the issue [of gun control], these Republican lawmakers have chosen to punish, silence, and expel duly-elected Representatives of the people of Tennessee, the President said.

WHEREAS, Issues that the Representatives were protesting continue to be a prevalent problem in this country. We are suffering from a mass shooting epidemic. We continuously have to mourn the loss of babies, children, adults, and the elderly. Enough is enough!

WHEREAS, Representatives Johnson, Pearson, and Jones were within their rights to testify in favor of tighter gun control measures.

WHEREAS, Under the Tennessee Constitution, Section 27 of Article 2, any member of either House of the general Assembly, has liberty to dissent from, and protest against, any act or resolve which they may think is injurious to the public or to any individual, and to have the reasons for their dissent entered on the journals.

WHEREAS, We reside in a nation where our constitutional rights ought to be guaranteed, but despite our best efforts, we continue to experience the same issues that others have struggled to resolve. These recurring concerns were fought for by civil rights leaders such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Thurgood Marshall, and Rosa Parks.

WHEREAS, The actions of the Tennessee House of Representatives threaten our democracy and nation because injustices like this one continue to be committed.

WHEREAS, We as a nation should fear that other states will follow in the steps of Tennessee, and remaining silent could perpetuate the same issues of injustice. As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. proclaimed, A time comes when silence is betrayal.

Resolved by the Assembly and the Senate of the State of California, jointly, That the California Legislature joins in denouncing the actions of the Tennessee House of Representatives during the week of April 3 to April 6, 2023, in expelling two African-American Democratic Representatives for no justifiable reason; and be it further

Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.

 THIRD READING  

Bill No: AJR 5

Author: Gipson (D) and Cervantes (D), et al.

Introduced: 4/17/23

Vote: 21

SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: 10-0, 6/20/23

AYES: Umberg, Wilk, Allen, Ashby, Caballero, Durazo, Laird, Min, Stern, Wiener

NO VOTE RECORDED: Niello

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 63-0, 5/15/23 - See last page for vote

SUBJECT: Expulsion of Tennessee state representatives

SOURCE: Author

DIGEST:

This resolution makes findings relating to the expulsion by the Tennessee House of Representatives of African-American Representatives Jones and Pearson on April 6, 2023 for their participation in protests in the House chamber after the March 27th mass shooting at a school in Nashville, Tennessee, and condemns the Tennessee House of Representatives for these expulsions.

ANALYSIS:

This resolution declares:

1. That on March 27, 2023, a shooting occurred at The Covenant School, a private religious school in Nashville, Tennessee that resulted in the death of three nine-year old children, Evelyn Dieckhaus, William Kinney, Hallie Scruggs, and three staff members, Katherine Koonce, Cynthia Peak, and Mike Hill.
2. That the news of this tragedy devastated many people and started a movement to highlight a persistent issue in this nation: gun violence and mass shootings.
3. That more than 1,000 peaceful protesters rallied around Tennessee’s State Capitol on March 30, 2023, calling for more restrictive gun laws and gun control. The rally then made its way to the Capitol Floor.
4. That three minority party members of the Tennessee House of Representatives, Gloria Johnson, Justin Pearson, and Justin Jones were threatened to be expelled from office for their roles in the protest.
5. That, on April 6, 2023, the Tennessee House of Representatives voted on whether or not these three Representatives should stay in office after it was determined that they violated decorum. Of these three Representatives, Justin Pearson and Justin Jones, who are African-American, were expelled.
6. That the only minority party Representative to be exonerated after the initial resolution was passed was Gloria Johnson, who said, “It might have something to do with the color of our skin.”
7. That the expulsion of Pearson and Jones was undemocratic. The resolutions to expel the minority Representatives were filed by three majority party Representatives, Andrew Farmer, Gino Bulso, and Bud Hulsey.
8. That the expulsion of the Representatives caused national uproar, as specified.
9. That the actions of the Tennessee Legislature were further unjust because the Constitution allows for freedom of speech and freedom of protest, rights that the Representatives were penalized for exercising.
10. That President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris issued specified statements regarding the matter, including that the expulsions were “shocking, undemocratic, and without precedent.”
11. That issues that the Representatives were protesting continue to be a prevalent problem in this country. We are suffering from a mass shooting epidemic. We continuously have to mourn the loss of babies, children, adults, and the elderly. Enough is enough!
12. That Representatives Johnson, Pearson, and Jones were within their rights to testify in favor of tighter gun control measures.
13. That, under the Tennessee Constitution, Section 27 of Article 2, any member of either House of the general Assembly, has liberty to dissent from, and protest against, any act or resolve which they may think is injurious to the public or to any individual, and to have the reasons for their dissent entered on the journals.
14. That we reside in a nation where our constitutional rights ought to be guaranteed, but despite our best efforts, we continue to experience the same issues that others have struggled to resolve. These recurring concerns were fought for by civil rights leaders such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Thurgood Marshall, and Rosa Parks.
15. That the actions of the Tennessee House of Representatives threaten our democracy and nation because injustices like this one continue to be committed.
16. That we as a nation should fear that other states will follow in the steps of Tennessee, and remaining silent could perpetuate the same issues of injustice. As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. proclaimed, “A time comes when silence is betrayal.”

This resolution, in light of those facts and declarations, resolves the following:

1. That the Assembly and the Senate of the State of California, jointly joins in denouncing the actions of the Tennessee House of Representatives during the week of April 3 to April 6, 2023, in expelling two African-American Democratic Representatives for no justifiable reason; and
2. That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.

Comments

The author introduced this resolution “to denounce the actions of the Tennessee Legislature for unjustly expelling House of Representatives Justin Jones and Justin Pearson on April 6, 2023.”

According to the author:

The actions in Tennessee are reprehensible and have the ability to harm many communities of color by denying more than 140,000 Tennesseans their voice in the Legislature. I wish to draw attention to this undemocratic issue to help prevent this practice from happening again and spreading to other states. AJR 5 aims to increase awareness of this issue before it gets worse.

Background

1. The events in Tennessee that prompted this resolution

On March 27, 2023, Nashville, Tennessee was struck by a deadly mass shooting at The Covenant School in Green Hills. Three children and three adults were killed in the shooting by a shooter wielding two “assault-style” rifles and a pistol. The shooting prompted large public protests across Tennessee and the nation calling for policy change to stem the high gun violence across the United States that led to the March 27th Nashville shooting. During the protests at the Tennessee Capitol in the days after the shooting, three Democratic members of the Tennessee House of Representatives, Gloria Johnson, Justin Jones, and Justin J. Pearson, a group dubbed the “Tennessee Three,” led personal protests for gun reform on the House floor and joined demonstrators in the chamber’s public gallery during a legislative session in response to the Tennessee Legislature’s refusal to act on gun violence.

On April 6, 2023, the House of Representatives voted to expel the Tennessee Three for their protests, claiming they had violated rules of decorum for the house chamber. The resolutions for expulsion for Representatives Jones and Pearson, both young African-American men, passed with a two-thirds majority, while the resolution against Representative Johnson, a white woman, failed to pass by one vote. Following the vote, Representative Johnson opined that the reason the vote to expel her failed but did not for Representatives Jones and Pearson, “might have something to do with the color of our skin.” Representative Jones defended the Tennessee Three’s protest, saying they are “fighting for kids who are dying from gun violence and people in our communities who want to see an end to the proliferation of weaponry in our communities.” Representative Jones also commented after the vote that the Tennessee Legislature, “rather than pass laws that will address red flags and banning assault weapons and universal background checks, [the Legislature] passed resolutions to expel their colleagues.”

1. The Representatives’ expulsion in the context of Tennessee’s history of racism

Immediately after the expulsion votes, the Tennessee House of Representatives received accusations of racism from within Tennessee and across the nation. Representative Jones stated that, “a state in which the Ku Klux Klan was founded is now attempting another power grab by silencing the two youngest Black representatives and one of the only Democratic women in this body.”

The expulsions of Representatives Jones and Pearson come amid a long and fraught history of racism in Tennessee. Slavery was rampant throughout Tennessee in the 1700s and 1800s, and Tennessee joined the Confederacy during the Civil War. Even after the end of the Civil War, much like other states in the South, Tennessee continued to deny African-Americans their rights to political participation through more than 20 Jim Crow laws. In recent years, racial gerrymandering, debates relating to Confederate monuments and flags, killings of unarmed African-Americans, and continuing socio-economic disparities demonstrate that racism continues to be a major challenge in Tennessee and nationwide. Presently, only three Tennessee state Senators and only 12 members of the House of Representatives are African-American.

When Representatives Jones and Pearson were expelled, many saw parallels to other instances in which African-American legislators have been unjustly punished or excluded from the legislative bodies to which they were elected. For some, it echoed the treatment of Julian Bond, an African-American and civil rights leader elected to the Georgia Legislature in 1965, who was initially denied his seat by white legislators because of his opposition to the Vietnam War. For others, it recalled another instance in Georgia in 1868 when white legislators expelled all 33 African-American lawmakers from the Legislature.

1. The Representatives’ expulsion in the context of inaction on gun violence

The Nashville shooting on March 27th was just one of many mass shootings that have occurred already this year; the United States is on a record pace for the number of mass shootings in 2023. Such a record is only part of a years-long trend, with over 19,000 people having been shot and wounded or killed in a mass shooting in the United States since 2015. Tennessee itself is a major part of this problem; it ranks twelfth for gun deaths and ninth for gun violence in the United States. Tennessee is not one of the ten states that has adopted an assault weapons ban, nor is it one of the fourteen that prohibits high-capacity magazines.

1. The Representatives’ expulsion in the context of prior expulsions

Expelling a member from the Tennessee House of Representatives requires a two-thirds majority vote of the House. In Tennessee’s history, this has only happened three times; in 1866, 1980, and in 2016. These prior expulsions were of members who blocked the ratification of the 14th Amendment, a member who sought a bribe in exchange for killing a piece of legislation, and a member who was under state and federal investigation for sexual misconduct. Notably, Tennessee lawmakers have declined to expel members of their chambers in many other instances, including when a member of the majority party faced accusations of sexual assault, when a member faced Federal criminal charges of money laundering and corruption, and when a member vilely talked about conducting capital punishment by lynching.

1. The expulsion’s threat to democracy nationwide

Representatives Jones and Pearson were democratically elected by the people of their districts to serve in the Tennessee House of Representatives. Following their expulsion by the Tennessee House, many observers nationwide expressed concern for how such an undemocratic act could have serious rippling effects that threaten democratic values across the United States. The move represents an increased use of procedural or decorum rules to punish and silence opposition, stripping them of their power and voice instead of engaging in the political process. Comparisons have been drawn to other recent political developments where the party in power has stripped opposing voices of power for minor penalties, such as when a nonbinary legislator in Oklahoma was removed for providing refuge in their office for a transgender rights activist, and when two minority party leaders were arrested in Florida for participating in a protest over abortion restrictions. Politics is often contentious, but our democracy is at risk when parties in power use their power to punish and silence their opponents at the slightest sign of conflict.

FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No Local: No

SUPPORT:

None received

OPPOSITION:

None received

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 63-0, 5/15/23

AYES: Addis, Aguiar-Curry, Alvarez, Arambula, Bains, Bauer-Kahan, Bennett, Berman, Boerner, Bonta, Bryan, Calderon, Juan Carrillo, Wendy Carrillo, Cervantes, Connolly, Davies, Mike Fong, Gabriel, Garcia, Gipson, Grayson, Haney, Hart, Holden, Irwin, Jackson, Jones-Sawyer, Kalra, Lee, Low, Lowenthal, Maienschein, McCarty, McKinnor, Muratsuchi, Stephanie Nguyen, Ortega, Pacheco, Papan, Pellerin, Petrie-Norris, Quirk-Silva, Ramos, Reyes, Luz Rivas, Robert Rivas, Rodriguez, Blanca Rubio, Santiago, Schiavo, Soria, Ting, Valencia, Villapudua, Wallis, Ward, Weber, Wicks, Wilson, Wood, Zbur, Rendon

NO VOTE RECORDED: Alanis, Chen, Megan Dahle, Dixon, Essayli, Flora, Vince Fong, Friedman, Gallagher, Hoover, Lackey, Mathis, Jim Patterson, Joe Patterson, Sanchez, Ta, Waldron

Prepared by: Ian Dougherty / JUD. / (916) 651-4113

6/21/23 14:30:42

**** END ****

SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE

Senator Thomas Umberg, Chair

2023-2024 Regular Session

Bill No: AJR 5 (Author:Gipson)

Version: April 17, 2023

Hearing Date: June 20, 2023

Fiscal: No

Urgency: No

Consultant: ID

SUBJECT

Expulsion of Tennessee state representatives

DIGEST

This resolution makes findings relating to the expulsion by the Tennessee House of Representatives of African-American Representatives Jones and Pearson on April 6, 2023 for their participation in protests in the House chamber after the March 27th mass shooting at a school in Nashville, Tennessee, and condemns the Tennessee House of Representatives for these expulsions.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

On April 6, 2023, the Tennessee House of Representatives voted on resolutions to expel three of its Democratic members for accusations that they broke House rules of decorum when they led protests on the House floor and joined protestors in the chamber gallery. The protests were in response to the House’s inaction on gun violence after the mass shooting at a Nashville school that occurred on March 27, 2023 that left six people dead. While the resolution against Representative Johnson, a white woman, failed, the resolutions to expel Representatives Jones and Pearson, both African-American men, succeeded. This resolution condemns the Tennessee House of Representatives’ undemocratic and racist expulsion of Representatives Jones and Pearson for expressing their political opinions. The resolution is author sponsored and has no known opposition.

PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE LAW

This resolution declares:

1. That on March 27, 2023, a shooting occurred at The Covenant School, a private religious school in Nashville, Tennessee that resulted in the death of three nine-year old children, Evelyn Dieckhaus, William Kinney, Hallie Scruggs, and three staff members, Katherine Koonce, Cynthia Peak, and Mike Hill.
2. That the news of this tragedy devastated many people and started a movement to highlight a persistent issue in this nation: gun violence and mass shootings.
3. That more than 1,000 peaceful protesters rallied around Tennessee’s State Capitol on March 30, 2023, calling for more restrictive gun laws and gun control. The rally then made its way to the Capitol Floor.
4. That three minority party members of the Tennessee House of Representatives, Gloria Johnson, Justin Pearson, and Justin Jones were threatened to be expelled from office for their roles in the protest.
5. That, on April 6, 2023, the Tennessee House of Representatives voted on whether or not these three Representatives should stay in office after it was determined that they violated decorum. Of these three Representatives, Justin Pearson and Justin Jones, who are African-American, were expelled.
6. That the only minority party Representative to be exonerated after the initial resolution was passed was Gloria Johnson, who said, “It might have something to do with the color of our skin.”
7. That the expulsion of Pearson and Jones was undemocratic. The resolutions to expel the minority Representatives were filed by three majority party Representatives, Andrew Farmer, Gino Bulso, and Bud Hulsey.
8. That the expulsion of the Representatives caused national uproar, as specified.
9. That the actions of the Tennessee Legislature were further unjust because the Constitution allows for freedom of speech and freedom of protest, rights that the Representatives were penalized for exercising.
10. That President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris issued specified statements regarding the matter, including that the expulsions were “shocking, undemocratic, and without precedent.”
11. That issues that the Representatives were protesting continue to be a prevalent problem in this country. We are suffering from a mass shooting epidemic. We continuously have to mourn the loss of babies, children, adults, and the elderly. Enough is enough!
12. That Representatives Johnson, Pearson, and Jones were within their rights to testify in favor of tighter gun control measures.
13. That, under the Tennessee Constitution, Section 27 of Article 2, any member of either House of the general Assembly, has liberty to dissent from, and protest against, any act or resolve which they may think is injurious to the public or to any individual, and to have the reasons for their dissent entered on the journals.
14. That we reside in a nation where our constitutional rights ought to be guaranteed, but despite our best efforts, we continue to experience the same issues that others have struggled to resolve. These recurring concerns were fought for by civil rights leaders such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Thurgood Marshall, and Rosa Parks.
15. That the actions of the Tennessee House of Representatives threaten our democracy and nation because injustices like this one continue to be committed.
16. That we as a nation should fear that other states will follow in the steps of Tennessee, and remaining silent could perpetuate the same issues of injustice. As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. proclaimed, “A time comes when silence is betrayal.”

This resolution, in light of those facts and declarations, resolves the following:

1. That the Assembly and the Senate of the State of California, jointly joins in denouncing the actions of the Tennessee House of Representatives during the week of April 3 to April 6, 2023, in expelling two African-American Democratic Representatives for no justifiable reason; and
2. That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.

COMMENTS

1. Authors’ comment

The author introduced this resolution “to denounce the actions of the Tennessee Legislature for unjustly expelling House of Representatives Justin Jones and Justin Pearson on April 6, 2023.”

According to the author:

The actions in Tennessee are reprehensible and have the ability to harm many communities of color by denying more than 140,000 Tennesseans their voice in the Legislature. I wish to draw attention to this undemocratic issue to help prevent this practice from happening again and spreading to other states. AJR 5 aims to increase awareness of this issue before it gets worse.

1. The events in Tennessee that prompted this resolution

On March 27, 2023, Nashville, Tennessee was struck by a deadly mass shooting at The Covenant School in Green Hills.^[1] Three children and three adults were killed in the shooting by a shooter wielding two “assault-style” rifles and a pistol. The shooting prompted large public protests across Tennessee and the nation calling for policy change to stem the high gun violence across the United States that led to the March 27^th Nashville shooting. During the protests at the Tennessee Capitol in the days after the shooting, three Democratic members of the Tennessee House of Representatives, Gloria Johnson, Justin Jones, and Justin J. Pearson, a group dubbed the “Tennessee Three,” led personal protests for gun reform on the House floor and joined demonstrators in the chamber’s public gallery during a legislative session in response to the Tennessee Legislature’s refusal to act on gun violence.^[2]

On April 6, 2023, the House of Representatives voted to expel the Tennessee Three for their protests, claiming they had violated rules of decorum for the house chamber. The resolutions for expulsion for Representatives Jones and Pearson, both young African-American men, passed with a two-thirds majority, while the resolution against Representative Johnson, a white woman, failed to pass by one vote. Following the vote, Representative Johnson opined that the reason the vote to expel her failed but did not for Representatives Jones and Pearson, “might have something to do with the color of our skin.” Representative Jones defended the Tennessee Three’s protest, saying they are “fighting for kids who are dying from gun violence and people in our communities who want to see an end to the proliferation of weaponry in our communities.” Representative Jones also commented after the vote that the Tennessee Legislature, “rather than pass laws that will address red flags and banning assault weapons and universal background checks, [the Legislature] passed resolutions to expel their colleagues.”

1. The Representatives’ expulsion in the context of Tennessee’s history of racism

Immediately after the expulsion votes, the Tennessee House of Representatives received accusations of racism from within Tennessee and across the nation. Representative Jones stated that, “a state in which the Ku Klux Klan was founded is now attempting another power grab by silencing the two youngest Black representatives and one of the only Democratic women in this body.”^[3]

The expulsions of Representatives Jones and Pearson come amid a long and fraught history of racism in Tennessee. Slavery was rampant throughout Tennessee in the 1700s and 1800s, and Tennessee joined the Confederacy during the Civil War. Even after the end of the Civil War, much like other states in the South, Tennessee continued to deny African-Americans their rights to political participation through more than 20 Jim Crow laws. In recent years, racial gerrymandering, debates relating to Confederate monuments and flags, killings of unarmed African-Americans, and continuing socio-economic disparities demonstrate that racism continues to be a major challenge in Tennessee and nationwide. Presently, only three Tennessee state Senators and only 12 members of the House of Representatives are African-American.^[4]

When Representatives Jones and Pearson were expelled, many saw parallels to other instances in which African-American legislators have been unjustly punished or excluded from the legislative bodies to which they were elected.^[5] For some, it echoed the treatment of Julian Bond, an African-American and civil rights leader elected to the Georgia Legislature in 1965, who was initially denied his seat by white legislators because of his opposition to the Vietnam War. For others, it recalled another instance in Georgia in 1868 when white legislators expelled all 33 African-American lawmakers from the Legislature.

1. The Representatives’ expulsion in the context of inaction on gun violence

The Nashville shooting on March 27th was just one of many mass shootings that have occurred already this year; the United States is on a record pace for the number of mass shootings in 2023.^[6] Such a record is only part of a years-long trend, with over 19,000 people having been shot and wounded or killed in a mass shooting in the United States since 2015.^[7] Tennessee itself is a major part of this problem; it ranks twelfth for gun deaths and ninth for gun violence in the United States.^[8] Tennessee is not one of the ten states that has adopted an assault weapons ban, nor is it one of the fourteen that prohibits high-capacity magazines.

1. The Representatives’ expulsion in the context of prior expulsions

Expelling a member from the Tennessee House of Representatives requires a two-thirds majority vote of the House. In Tennessee’s history, this has only happened three times; in 1866, 1980, and in 2016.^[9] These prior expulsions were of members who blocked the ratification of the 14^th Amendment, a member who sought a bribe in exchange for killing a piece of legislation, and a member who was under state and federal investigation for sexual misconduct. Notably, Tennessee lawmakers have declined to expel members of their chambers in many other instances, including when a member of the majority party faced accusations of sexual assault, when a member faced Federal criminal charges of money laundering and corruption, and when a member vilely talked about conducting capital punishment by lynching.^[10]

1. The expulsion’s threat to democracy nationwide

Representatives Jones and Pearson were democratically elected by the people of their districts to serve in the Tennessee House of Representatives. Following their expulsion by the Tennessee House, many observers nationwide expressed concern for how such an undemocratic act could have serious rippling effects that threaten democratic values across the United States.^[11] The move represents an increased use of procedural or decorum rules to punish and silence opposition, stripping them of their power and voice instead of engaging in the political process. Comparisons have been drawn to other recent political developments where the party in power has stripped opposing voices of power for minor penalties, such as when a nonbinary legislator in Oklahoma was removed for providing refuge in their office for a transgender rights activist, and when two minority party leaders were arrested in Florida for participating in a protest over abortion restrictions.^[12] Politics is often contentious, but our democracy is at risk when parties in power use their power to punish and silence their opponents at the slightest sign of conflict.

SUPPORT

None known

OPPOSITION

None know

RELATED LEGISLATION

Pending Legislation: None known.

Prior Legislation: None known.

PRIOR VOTES:

Assembly Floor (Ayes 63, Noes 0)

Assembly Judiciary Committee (Ayes 8, Noes 0)

**************

1. Jonathan Mattise, “3 children, 3 adults killed in schooting at Nashville private school,” Associated Press (Mar. 27, 2023 at 2:15 pm), available at https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/3-children-killed-in-shooting-at-nashville-private-school. ↑

2. Kimberlee Kruesi, Jonathan Mattise, “Tennessee’s House expels 2 of 3 Democrats over guns protest,” Associated Press (April 7, 2023), available at https://apnews.com/article/tennessee-lawmakers-expulsion-d3f40559c56a051eec49e416a7b5dade. ↑

3. Matthew Brown, “Problematic things Tenn. Republicans have done without getting expelled,” The Washington Post (April 8, 2023 at 6:00 am), available at https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/04/08/tennessee-republicans-expelled/. ↑

4. “The Tennessee State Legislature,” Center for Youth Political Participation, Rutgers University (2023), available at https://cypp.rutgers.edu/tennessee/. ↑

5. Sandhya Dirks, “Power, race, and fragile democracy in Tennessee,” NPR (April 17, 2023 5:57 pm), available at https://www.npr.org/2023/04/17/1170137973/power-race-and-fragile-democracy-in-tennessee. ↑

6. “Mass shootings in U.S. on a record pace in 2023 so far” (April 21, 2023) PBS, available at https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/mass-shootings-in-u-s-on-a-record-pace-in-2023-so-far. ↑

7. “Mass Shootings in the United States,” Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund (Mar. 2023), available at https://everytownresearch.org/mass-shootings-in-america/. ↑

8. “How does gun violence impact the communities you care about?” Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund (2021), available at https://everystat.org/#Tennessee. ↑

9. Brown, supra note 6. ↑

10. Id. ↑

11. Ivan Saric, “How Tennessee GOP expelling 2 Democrats could have ripple effect in other states,” AXIOS (April 7, 2023), available at https://www.axios.com/2023/04/07/tennessee-house-lawmakers-expulsion-democrats. ↑

12. Sean Murphy, “Amid polarization, minority party lawmakers face penalties,” Associated Press (April 5, 2023), available at https://apnews.com/article/oklahoma-tennessee-florida-partisanship-polarization-79934faf6518d901f888a3760b52ef4c. ↑

ASSEMBLY THIRD READING

ATR Bill Id:AJR 5

Author:(Gipson and Cervantes)

As Introduced Ver:April 17, 2023

Majority vote

SUMMARY

Condemns the actions of the Tennessee House of Representatives for expelling two African-American Democratic representatives for protesting gun violence.

Major Provisions

1. Makes findings and declarations, including:
   1. On March 27, 2023, a shooting occurred at The Covenant School, a private religious school in Nashville, Tennessee that resulted in the death of three nine-year old children, Evelyn Dieckhaus, William Kinney, Hallie Scruggs, and three staff members, Katherine Koonce (60), Cynthia Peak (61), and Mike Hill (61);
   2. More than 1,000 peaceful protesters rallied around Tennessee's State Capitol on March 30, 2023, calling for more restrictive gun laws and gun control. The rally then made its way to the Capitol Floor;
   3. Three Democratic members of the Tennessee House of Representatives, Gloria Johnson, Justin Pearson, and Justin Jones were threatened to be expelled from office for their roles in the protest;
   4. On April 6, 2023, the Tennessee House of Representatives voted on whether or not these three Representatives should stay in office after it was determined that they violated decorum. Of these three Representatives, Justin Pearson and Justin Jones, who are African-American, were expelled;
   5. The only Democratic Representative to be exonerated after the initial resolution was passed was Gloria Johnson, who said, "It might have something to do with the color of our skin;"
   6. The expulsion of Pearson and Jones was undemocratic. The resolutions to expel the Democratic Representatives were filed by three Republican Representatives, Andrew Farmer, Gino Bulso, and Bud Hulsey;
   7. The expulsion of the Representatives caused national uproar. Vice President Kamala Harris said on Friday, April 7, 2023, that the state House's act "wasn't about the three" Democrats. "It's about whose voices they were channeling. Understand that;"
   8. The actions of the Tennessee Legislature were further unjust because the Constitution allows for freedom of speech and freedom of protest, rights that the Representatives were penalized for exercising;
   9. President Joe Biden thanked the three Democratic Representatives for their leadership. In an earlier statement on Thursday, April 6, 2023, President Biden called the expulsions "shocking, undemocratic, and without precedent." "Rather than debating the merits of the issue [of gun control], these Republican lawmakers have chosen to punish, silence, and expel duly-elected Representatives of the people of Tennessee," the President said;
   10. Under the Tennessee Constitution, Article 2, Section 27, any member of either House of the general Assembly, has liberty to dissent from, and protest against, any act or resolve which they may think is injurious to the public or to any individual, and to have the reasons for their dissent entered on the journals;
   11. We reside in a nation where our constitutional rights ought to be guaranteed, but despite our best efforts, we continue to experience the same issues that others have struggled to resolve. These recurring concerns were fought for by civil rights leaders such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Thurgood Marshall, and Rosa Parks;
   12. The actions of the Tennessee House of Representatives threaten our democracy and nation because injustices like this one continue to be committed; and
   13. We as a nation should fear that other states will follow in the steps of Tennessee, and remaining silent could perpetuate the same issues of injustice. As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. proclaimed, "A time comes when silence is betrayal."
2. Resolves to denounce the actions of the Tennessee House of Representatives during the week of April 3 to April 6, 2023, in expelling two African-American Democratic Representatives for no justifiable reason.

COMMENTS

On April 6, 2023, the Tennessee House of Representatives voted on resolutions to expel three of its Democratic members – Gloria Johnson, Justin Jones, and Justin J. Pearson, a group dubbed the "Tennessee Three" – who were accused of breaking the House's decorum rules by leading personal protests for gun reform on the House floor before joining demonstrators in the chamber's public gallery during a legislative session. This protest occurred in the days after the 2023 Covenant School shooting, that left six people, including three children, dead. Resolutions for the expulsions of Jones and Pearson, two young African-American men, passed with a two-thirds majority, and they were removed from office. The resolution against Johnson, a white female, failed to pass by a single vote, and she was allowed to retain her seat. The Tennessee Three were simply using their platform as legislators to amplify the vocal cries for change of their constituents and demand that our leaders do better for children by enacting common sense gun laws. For that, the legislative majority attacked their right to free speech. What happened in Tennessee did not happen in a vacuum. It comes as part of an ongoing assault on democracy and freedom of speech in state governments around the country. Indeed, just last week, the Montana Legislature voted to prohibit a transgender member, Zooey Zephyr, from participating in legislative business based upon her alleged violation of rules of decorum after she sharply criticized Republicans for passing legislation to ban gender-affirming health care

This resolution is a recognition that the California Legislature has an obligation to fight for democracy, and condemn attacks on democracy wherever they occur—especially when such attacks are directed at fellow lawmakers in sister houses. The measure condemns the Tennessee House of Representative's expulsion of two African-American members for their involvement in a peaceful protest. The resolution does so by detailing the events leading up to their expulsion, including the March 27, 2023, mass shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville, and the ensuing protest for more restrictive gun laws and gun control at Tennessee's State Capitol. The resolution then recounts the public backlash to the expulsion, and the concerns their expulsion raises about issues of racism, undemocratic silencing of opposition, and continued refusal to address gun violence. The resolution denounces the conduct of the Tennessee House for these unjustified expulsions.

According to the Author

I would like to denounce the actions of the Tennessee Legislature for unjustly expelling House of Representatives Justin Jones and Justin Pearson on April 6, 2023. The actions in Tennessee are reprehensible and have the ability to harm many communities of color by denying more than 140,000 Tennesseans their voice in the Legislature. I wish to draw attention to this undemocratic issue to help prevent this practice from happening again and spreading to other states. AJR 5 aims to increase awareness of this issue before it gets worse.

Arguments in Support

No support on file.

Arguments in Opposition

No opposition on file.

FISCAL COMMENTS

None.

VOTES

ASM JUDICIARY: 8-0-3

YES: Maienschein, Connolly, Haney, Kalra, Pacheco, Papan, Reyes, Robert Rivas

ABS, ABST OR NV: Essayli, Dixon, Sanchez

UPDATED

VERSION: April 17, 2023

CONSULTANT: Shiran Zohar / JUD. / (916) 319-2334 FN: 0000279

Date of Hearing: May 2, 2023

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY

Brian Maienschein, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AJR 5

Author:(Gipson) – As Introduced Ver:April 17, 2023

SUBJECT: Expulsion of Tennessee state representatives

KEY ISSUE: should the california legislature condemn the tennessee house of representatives for its undemocratic expulsion of two african-american representatives from the house for their peaceful protest of gun violence in tennessee?

SYNOPSIS

On April 6, 2023, the Tennessee House of Representatives voted on resolutions to expel three of its Democratic members — Gloria Johnson, Justin Jones, and Justin J. Pearson, a group dubbed the “Tennessee Three” — who were accused of breaking the House's decorum rules by leading personal protests for gun reform on the House floor before joining demonstrators in the chamber’s public gallery during a legislative session. This protest occurred in the days after the 2023 Covenant School shooting, that left six people, including three children, dead. Resolutions for the expulsions of Jones and Pearson, two young African-American men, passed with a two-thirds majority, and they were removed from office. The resolution against Johnson, a white female, failed to pass by a single vote, and she was allowed to retain her seat. The Tennessee Three were simply using their platform as legislators to amplify the vocal cries for change of their constituents and demand that our leaders do better for children by enacting common sense gun laws. For that, the legislative majority attacked their right to free speech. What happened in Tennessee did not happen in a vacuum. It comes as part of an ongoing assault on democracy and freedom of speech in state governments around the country. Indeed, just last week, the Montana Legislature voted to prohibit a transgender member, Zooey Zephyr, from participating in legislative business based upon her alleged violation of rules of decorum after she sharply criticized Republicans for passing legislation to ban gender-affirming health care.

This resolution is a recognition that the California Legislature has an obligation to fight for democracy, and condemn attacks on democracy wherever they occur—especially when such attacks are directed at fellow lawmakers in sister houses. This resolution condemns the Tennessee House of Representatives for their expulsion of two African-American members because of their involvement in a peaceful protest. The measure has over 30 co-authors in the Assembly and Senate. There is no known opposition.

SUMMARY: Condemns the actions of the Tennessee House of Representatives for expelling two African-American Democratic representatives for protesting gun violence. Specifically, this resolution:

1. Makes findings and declarations, including:
   1. On March 27, 2023, a shooting occurred at The Covenant School, a private religious school in Nashville, Tennessee that resulted in the death of three nine-year old children, Evelyn Dieckhaus, William Kinney, Hallie Scruggs, and three staff members, Katherine Koonce (60), Cynthia Peak (61), and Mike Hill (61);
   2. More than 1,000 peaceful protesters rallied around Tennessee’s State Capitol on March 30, 2023, calling for more restrictive gun laws and gun control. The rally then made its way to the Capitol Floor;
   3. Three Democratic members of the Tennessee House of Representatives, Gloria Johnson, Justin Pearson, and Justin Jones were threatened to be expelled from office for their roles in the protest;
   4. On April 6, 2023, the Tennessee House of Representatives voted on whether or not these three Representatives should stay in office after it was determined that they violated decorum. Of these three Representatives, Justin Pearson and Justin Jones, who are African-American, were expelled;
   5. The only Democratic Representative to be exonerated after the initial resolution was passed was Gloria Johnson, who said, “It might have something to do with the color of our skin;”
   6. The expulsion of Pearson and Jones was undemocratic. The resolutions to expel the Democratic Representatives were filed by three Republican Representatives, Andrew Farmer, Gino Bulso, and Bud Hulsey;
   7. The expulsion of the Representatives caused national uproar. Vice President Kamala Harris said on Friday, April 7, 2023, that the state House’s act “wasn’t about the three” Democrats. “It’s about whose voices they were channeling. Understand that;”
   8. The actions of the Tennessee Legislature were further unjust because the Constitution allows for freedom of speech and freedom of protest, rights that the Representatives were penalized for exercising;
   9. President Joe Biden thanked the three Democratic Representatives for their leadership. In an earlier statement on Thursday, April 6, 2023, President Biden called the expulsions “shocking, undemocratic, and without precedent.” “Rather than debating the merits of the issue [of gun control], these Republican lawmakers have chosen to punish, silence, and expel duly-elected Representatives of the people of Tennessee,” the President said;
   10. Under the Tennessee Constitution, Section 27 of Article 2, any member of either House of the general Assembly, has liberty to dissent from, and protest against, any act or resolve which they may think is injurious to the public or to any individual, and to have the reasons for their dissent entered on the journals;
   11. We reside in a nation where our constitutional rights ought to be guaranteed, but despite our best efforts, we continue to experience the same issues that others have struggled to resolve. These recurring concerns were fought for by civil rights leaders such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Thurgood Marshall, and Rosa Parks;
   12. The actions of the Tennessee House of Representatives threaten our democracy and nation because injustices like this one continue to be committed; and
   13. We as a nation should fear that other states will follow in the steps of Tennessee, and remaining silent could perpetuate the same issues of injustice. As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. proclaimed, “A time comes when silence is betrayal.”
2. Resolves to denounce the actions of the Tennessee House of Representatives during the week of April 3 to April 6, 2023, in expelling two African-American Democratic Representatives for no justifiable reason.

FISCAL EFFECT: As currently in print this measure is keyed non-fiscal.

COMMENTS: On April 6, 2023, the Tennessee House of Representatives voted on resolutions to expel three of its Democratic members — Gloria Johnson, Justin Jones, and Justin J. Pearson, a group dubbed the “Tennessee Three” — who were accused of breaking the House’s decorum rules by leading personal protests for gun reform on the House floor and joining demonstrators in the chamber’s public gallery during a legislative session in the days after the 2023 Covenant School shooting. (Suliman, Adela; Jeong, Andrew, Who are the ‘Tennessee Three’? Here’s what to know (April 7, 2023) The Washington Post, available at https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/04/07/tennessee-three-jones-pearson-johnson-expelled/.) Resolutions for the expulsions of Jones and Pearson, two young African-American men, passed with a two-thirds majority, meaning they were removed from office. The resolution against Johnson, a white female, failed to pass by a single vote, and she was allowed to retain her seat. In the aftermath of the vote on the virtually identical resolutions against the Tennessee Three, which resulted in expulsions of only the two African-Americans, the non-expelled representative opined, “It might have something to do with the color of our skin.” (Ibid.)

In bringing this resolution, the author states:

I would like to denounce the actions of the Tennessee Legislature for unjustly expelling House of Representatives Justin Jones and Justin Pearson on April 6, 2023. The actions in Tennessee are reprehensible and have the ability to harm many communities of color by denying more than 140,000 Tennesseans their voice in the Legislature. I wish to draw attention to this undemocratic issue to help prevent this practice from happening again and spreading to other states. AJR 5 aims to increase awareness of this issue before it gets worse.

Tennessee and the legacy of institutional racism. Tennessee has a long and complicated history when it comes to issues of race and civil rights. Like many Southern states, Tennessee was deeply involved in the slave trade during the antebellum period, and continued to maintain a system of racial segregation and discrimination well into the 20th Century. Tennessee bears the unfortunate notoriety as the birthplace of the Ku Klux Klan. (Mark V. Wetherington, Ku Klux Klan, Tennessee Encyclopedia, available at https://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entries/ku-klux-klan/ (last accessed April 26, 2023).) The state was also a major site of activity during the Civil Rights Movement, with both the Nashville and Memphis chapters of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference playing important roles in the struggle for civil rights.

Despite the passage of major civil rights legislation in the 1960s, issues of race and discrimination have continued to be major challenges in Tennessee. In recent years, the state has seen controversies related to the display of Confederate symbols, the treatment of immigrant communities, and the targeting of African-American and other minority voters through voter ID laws and other measures.

Tennessee and gun violence. The March 27, 2023 mass shooting on an elementary school in Nashville, which left three children and three adults dead, precipitated the large public protests that ultimately resulted in the Tennessee Three controversy. That shooting was just one of many afflicting the country: the U.S. is setting a record pace for mass killings in 2023. (“Mass shootings in U.S. on a record pace in 2023 so far” (April 21, 2023) PBS, available at https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/mass-shootings-in-u-s-on-a-record-pace-in-2023-so-far.) And although Tennessee is not unique in suffering such a tragedy; it deserves dishonorable mention for both its rate of gun violence—and the absence of common sense gun control—in the state, even in a country awash in gun violence. In an average year, 1,385 people die by guns in Tennessee. With a rate of 20.1 deaths per 100,000 people, Tennessee has the 12^th highest rate of gun deaths, and the 9^th highest rate of gun violence in the United States. (EveryStat, Every Town for Gun Safety, available at EveryStat - EveryStat.org (last accessed April 26, 2023).) Guns are the leading cause of death among children and teens in Tennessee. (Ibid.)

History of expulsion from the Tennessee Legislature. The Tennessee House, a representative body of 99 members for two-year terms, requires a two-thirds majority of the total membership to expel another representative. In the State of Tennessee, expulsions are rare; since the Civil War, only eight representatives were expelled before 2023. Six representatives were expelled in 1866 for trying to prevent passage of the 14th Amendment, which granted citizenship to former slaves. In 1980, Republican representative Robert Fisher was expelled for bribery. Republican representative Jeremy Durham was expelled in 2016 for sexual misconduct involving at least 22 women. (Duane W. Gang, Tennessee legislative expulsions: From sexual misconduct to opposing rights of former slaves (April 4, 2023) The Tennessean, available at https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/politics/2023/04/04/tennessee-house-expulsions-history-legislative-members/70079648007/.)

What is perhaps more notable are the instances of wrong-doing that have not resulted in expulsion from the Tennessee House of Representatives. In 2018, state Rep. David Byrd faced accusations from three women who said he sexually assaulted them while they were minors on a basketball team that he coaches. In 2019, Republican leadership killed a resolution to expel him from the chamber. In May 2019, the House Republican Caucus held a 45-24 no-confidence vote on then-Tennessee House Speaker Glen Casada (R) after text messages emerged that showed the chamber’s top leader encouraged or approved of his chief of staff making disparaging and sexual comments about women, including interns and a lobbyist. He also faced federal charges in connection with a public corruption investigation. Casada stepped down as speaker but remained a member of the legislature and was not expelled. Other statements by representatives, including requests to add “lynching” as an execution method, and a defense of the “three-fifths compromise” did not result in any formal censure. (Matthew Brown, Problematic things Tenn. Republicans have done without getting expelled (April 8, 2023) The Washington Post, available at https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/04/08/tennessee-republicans-expelled/.) Other examples of “bad behavior” in the Tennessee House that did not result in expulsion include a member urinating on another member’s seat in an act of intraparty retribution. (Natalie Allison, No one should be shocked by what’s happening in Tennessee (April 8, 2023) Politico, available at https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/04/08/tennessee-descent-statehouse-mag-00091090.)

The events leading to the expulsion of Representatives Pearson and Jones. The expulsion of two representatives was simultaneously practically unprecedented and also a case of history repeating itself. The three Tennessee representatives faced expulsion for their role in a peaceful protest in support of gun restrictions in response to the mass-shooting crisis. The immediate impetus for the protest was a nearby mass shooting just days earlier at an elementary school in Nashville. The Tennessee Three led a peaceful protest against Republican leaders for not responding to the push for gun restrictions in response to the mass-shooting crisis in the U.S. They did so, they said, to amplify the voices of protesters and their constituents. They did so after the Republican speaker prevented them from speaking about the school shooting or gun legislation. Their involvement in the protest included using a megaphone on the house floor and breaking decorum rules by speaking when their microphone was cut off. Days after their protest, all three faced expulsion; and while the two Black representatives were expelled, the White female representative was spared from expulsion by a single vote. This punitive measure of expulsion was dramatic in context of previous Tennessee legislative expulsions (or lack thereof). However, the legislature’s actions were also unsurprising given the state’s long and tortured history with racism.

The Tennessee legislators’ undemocratic expulsion poses a threat to democracy everywhere. Six decades ago, Julian Bond, an African American member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, faced similar maneuvering by Georgia lawmakers. In June of 1965, voters elected the civil rights leader to the Georgia House of Representatives, but white members refused to seat him for criticizing the war in Vietnam. Not to be deterred, Bond filed a lawsuit in federal court. He lost and appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which reversed the lower court decision and ruled unanimously in his favor. Writing for the court, Chief Justice Earl Warren said, “The manifest function of the First Amendment in a representative government requires that legislators be given the widest latitude to express their views on issue of policy.” (Bond v. Floyd, (1966) 385 U.S. 116, 135-36.) Legislators like Bond, Jones, and Pearson must have the right to speak freely, represent their communities and fight for change. The Tennessee Three used their platforms to amplify the vocal cries of their constituents to change and do better for children. For that, the Republican majority attacked their right to free speech. Their constituents’ right to representation was also attacked, albeit briefly, as the legislators were quickly reinstated.

What happened in Tennessee did not happen in a vacuum. It comes as part of an ongoing assault on democracy and freedom of speech in state governments around the country. Indeed, just last week, the Montana Legislature voted to prohibit transgender member Zooey Zephyr from participating in legislative business based upon her alleged violation of rules of decorum based upon her alleged violation of legislative rules of decorum (which was, in fact, based upon her vocal condemnation of the Republican majority for approving legislation to ban gender-affirming health care).

This past week, President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris met with the Tennessee Three in the Oval Office, where the President condemned the Tennessee House’s expulsions and lauded the Three’s actions, declaring that “nothing is guaranteed by Democracy,” and that “every generation has to fight for it.” (Meagan Vazquez, et al., ‘Tennessee Three’ meets with Biden to discuss gun control (April 24, 2024) CNN, available at https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/24/politics/biden-tennessee-lawmakers-white-house/index.html.)

This resolution is a recognition that the California Legislature has an obligation to fight for democracy, and condemn attacks on democracy wherever they occur—especially when such attacks are directed at fellow lawmakers in sister houses. This resolution condemns the Tennessee House of Representative’s expulsion of two African-American members for their involvement in a peaceful protest. The resolution does so by detailing the events leading up to their expulsion, including the March 27, 2023 mass shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville, and the ensuing protest for more restrictive gun laws and gun control at Tennessee’s State Capitol. The resolution then recounts the public backlash to the expulsion, and the concerns their expulsion raises about issues of racism, undemocratic silencing of opposition, and continued refusal to address gun violence. The resolution denounces the conduct of the Tennessee House for these unjustified expulsions.

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

None on file

Opposition

None on file

Analysis Prepared by: Shiran Zohar / JUD. / (916) 319-2334