YES! We love to see it! After being expelled last week after participating in a gun violence protest, ousted Tennessee lawmaker Justin Jones has officially been reinstated by the Nashville Council.
Nashville Council Votes To Reinstate Tennessee Lawmaker Justin Jones Who Was Expelled Over Gun Violence Protest
As we reported last Thursday (April 6), Jones — along with Justin Pearson and Gloria Johnson — was put on a ballot to be voted out of the House after protesting against guns on Thursday (March 30).
The three Democratic representatives took to the House floor to lead chants with a bullhorn in the wake of the recent Nashville school shooting — were three children, two adults, and the Christian school’s headmaster died.
After the protests, State House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R) said that the Democrats in question were all pulled from their committee assignments as of Monday (April 3).
Then on April 6, Justin Jones (a first-time lawmaker) and Justin Pearson (a first-time lawmaker) were both voted out of their positions and expelled. However, Gloria Johnson (who’s been serving since 2019), survived the expulsion.
After the incident, all three speakers addressed the incident, and so did White House. Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre — who said, “The fact that this vote is happening is shocking, undemocratic and without precedent. Across Tennessee and across America our kids are paying the price for the actions of Republican lawmakers who continue to refuse to take action on stronger gun laws.”
Jean-Pierre added that President Joe Biden plans to continue to call upon Congress to ban assault weapons and high capacity magazines, and to also mandate safe gun storage and strengthen background checks.
Since the incident, on Monday (April 10), the Nashville Metropolitan Council voted to reappoint Justin Jones to the House of Representatives — reportedly it was passed unanimously.
As of today, State Rep. Justin Jones was reinstated and sworn back into his House District 52 seat as an interim representative. He took the oath on the steps of the state capitol in Nashville.
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