AUGUST 4, 2023:
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee Reps. Justin Pearson and Justin Jones have reclaimed their legislative seats after they were expelled for involvement in a gun control protest on the House floor. The young Black lawmakers had been reinstated by local officials after being booted from the GOP-dominated Statehouse, but only on an interim basis. They advanced (Aug. 3, 2023) through a special election to fully reclaim their positions. Both faced opponents in districts that heavily favor Democrats. The two had become Democratic heroes as members of the “Tennessee Three,” a trio of lawmakers who this spring demonstrated in the House chamber with a bullhorn and joined protesters’ chants and cries for action on gun control.
APRIL 13, 2023:
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The second of two Black Democrats expelled from the Republican-led Tennessee House will follow his colleague in a return to the Legislature. Justin Pearson will be sworn in and back at work Thursday (April 13, 2023) at the Capitol. The Memphis lawmaker is coming back a week after he and Rep. Justin Jones of Nashville were banished for a gun control protest on the House floor that propelled them into the national spotlight. The protest followed a Nashville school shooting that killed three children and three adults. On Monday, the Nashville Metropolitan Council restored Jones to office. He was reinstated to his House seat the same day. The positions are interim. Both plan to run in special elections for their seats.
APRIL 12, 2023:
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Commissioners in Memphis are scheduled to decide whether to return a Black Democrat to the Republican-led Tennessee House. Justin Pearson and a colleague were kicked out of the Legislature last Thursday following their support of gun control protesters. The Shelby County Board of Commissioners set a vote Wednesday (April 12, 2023). The vote will determine whether Pearson is sent back to the Legislature in Nashville. Republicans banished Pearson and Rep. Justin Jones over their role in a gun control protest on the House floor after the shooting at Covenant School in Nashville. Jones also is Black. He was reinstated to his House seat Monday.
APRIL 11, 2023:
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — One of the two Black Democrats who were expelled last week from the GOP-led Tennessee House has been reinstated. Nashville’s governing council voted Monday (April 10, 2023) to send Justin Jones straight back to the Legislature. He quickly returned to the chamber after being sworn in on the Capitol steps. The council vote returns Jones to the Capitol after just four days. Republicans banished the two over their role in a gun-control protest on the House floor in the aftermath of a deadly school shooting. The other lawmaker, Justin Pearson, could be reappointed Wednesday.
APRIL 10, 2023:
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Nashville officials are poised to vote to reinstate one of the two Black Democratic lawmakers expelled by Republican colleagues over their gun control protest on the House floor after a deadly school shooting. A metro council vote Monday (April 10, 2023) would send Rep. Justin Jones back after essentially a long weekend. Many councilmembers have said they want to send Jones back to the statehouse. Expelled Memphis Rep. Justin Pearson, meanwhile, could be reappointed at a Wednesday meeting of the Shelby County Commission. The expulsions have made Tennessee a new front in the battle for the future of American democracy, while propelling the ousted lawmakers into the national spotlight.
APRIL 9, 2023:
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Two expelled Black Democratic lawmakers in Tennessee say they want to be reappointed, then elected back to their seats. The comments by former Reps. Justin Jones and Justin Pearson follow their ouster by the Republican-led Legislature for a protest on the House floor urging passage of gun-control measures in the wake of a deadly school shooting in Nashville. Both former lawmakers told NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday (April 9, 2023) that they want to return to their positions as lawmakers. The Nashville metro council is likely to reappoint Jones during a specially called meeting Monday. The Shelby County Commission plans to announce soon when it will meet to fill the vacancy left by Pearson’s expulsion. Likewise, commissioners can reinstall Pearson.
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