Nashville: Republicans in control of the Tennessee House of Representatives voted to expel two Democratic representatives on Thursday for breaking decorum during a gun control demonstration at the statehouse last week in the wake of the latest school shooting.

Representatives Justin Jones and Justin Pearson, two young Black legislators, were removed by the Republican supermajority.

But the resolution to remove a third Democratic member who stood with them during the protest on the House floor, Gloria Johnson, a white woman, came up one vote short.

The split votes drew accusations of racism. Republican leadership denied that race was a factor, however.

Banishment is a move the chamber has used only a handful times since the Civil War. Most state legislatures in the US possess the power to expel members, but it is generally reserved as a punishment for representatives accused of serious misconduct, not used as a weapon against political opponents.

Representative Justin Pearson raises his fist on the floor of the House chamber in Nashville.Credit: AP

Jones, Pearson and Johnson joined in protesting last week as hundreds of protesters packed the Capitol to call for passage of gun-control measures. While demonstrators filled galleries, the three Democrats approached the front of the House chamber with a bullhorn and participated in a chant.

The protest unfolded days after the shooting at the Covenant School, a private Christian school where six people were killed, including three children.

“We are losing our democracy. This is not normal. This is not OK,” Pearson told reporters Thursday.

The three “broke a House rule because we’re 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.”

Johnson, a retired teacher, said her concern about school shootings was personal, recalling a day in 2008 when students came running toward her out of a cafeteria because a student had just been shot and killed there.

Former Representative Justin Pearson, left, Representative Gloria Johnson, centre and former Representative Justin Jones embrace outside the House chamber after Pearson and Jones were expelled.Credit: AP

“The trauma on those faces, you will never, ever forget. I don’t want to forget it,” she said.

Thousands of people flocked to the State Capitol to support the Democrats, cheering and chanting outside the House chamber so loudly that the noise drowned out the proceedings.

The trio held hands as they walked onto the floor, and Pearson raised his fist to the crowd during the Pledge of Allegiance.

Offered a chance to defend himself before the vote, Jones said the GOP responded to the shooting with a different kind of attack.

Representative Gloria Johnson raises her fist after a resolution to expel Johnson from the legislature failed on the floor of the House chamber in Nashville.Credit: AP

“We called for you all to ban assault weapons, and you respond with an assault on democracy,” he said.

Jones vowed that even if expelled, he would continue pressing for action on guns.

“I’ll be out there with the people every week, demanding that you act,” he said.

Republican Representative Gino Bulso said the three Democratic representatives “effectively conducted a mutiny”.

State Representative Justin Jones raises his fist on the floor of the House chamber as he walks to his desk to collect his belongings after being expelled from the legislature in Nashville, Tennessee.Credit: AP

“The gentleman shows no remorse,” Bulso said, referring to Jones. “He does not even recognise that what he did was wrong. So not to expel him would simply invite him and his colleagues to engage in mutiny on the House floor.”

The two expelled representatives may not be gone for long. County commissions in their districts get to pick replacements to serve until a special election can be scheduled, and they also would be eligible to run in the special election.

Under the Tennessee Constitution, representatives cannot be expelled for the same offence twice.

Tennessee State Troopers block the stairwell leading to the legislative chambers in Nashville.Credit: AP

During discussion, Republican Representative Sabi Kumar advised Jones to be more collegial and less focused on race.

“You have a lot to offer, but offer it in a vein where people are accepting of your ideas,” Kumar said.

Jones said he did not intend to assimilate in order to be accepted. “I’m not here to make friends. I’m here to make a change for my community,” he replied.

Fielding questions from representatives, Johnson reminded them that she did not raise her voice nor did she use the bullhorn — as did the other two, both of whom are new representatives and among the youngest members in the chamber.

But she also suggested that race was likely a factor on why Jones and Pearson were ousted but not her, telling reporters that it “might have to do with the colour of our skin.”

That notion was echoed by state Senator London Lamar, a Democrat representing Memphis.

Representatives “expelled the two black men and kept the white woman,” Lamar, a Black woman, said via Twitter. “The racism that is on display today! Wow!”

However, House Speaker Cameron Sexton, a Republican who voted to expel all three, denied that race was at play, arguing that Johnson’s arguments might have swayed other members.

“Our members literally didn’t look at the ethnicity of the members up for expulsion,” Majority Leader William Lamberth added. He alleged that Jones and Pearson were trying to incite a riot last week, while Johnson was more subdued.

After sitting quietly for hours and hushing anyone who cried out during the proceedings, people in the gallery erupted in screams and boos following the final vote. There were chants of “Shame!” and “Fascists!”

Representatives quickly adjourned for the evening.

Outrage over the expulsions underscored not only the ability of the Republican supermajority to silence opponents, but its increasing willingness to do so.

In Washington, President Joe Biden blasted the GOP’s priorities.

“Three kids and three officials gunned down in yet another mass shooting. And what are GOP officials focused on? Punishing representatives who joined thousands of peaceful protesters calling for action. It’s shocking, undemocratic, and without precedent,” Biden tweeted.

Many of the protesters travelled from Memphis and Knoxville, areas that Pearson and Johnson represent, and stood in a line that wrapped around the Capitol to get inside.

AP

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