A rally in support of Justin Pearson, Justin Jones, and Justin Pearson: “It’s a welcome return to the State House, but it’s not going to end”

Shelby County commissioners voted Wednesday on appointing Pearson to the House District 86 seat, which the 28-year-old vacated last week when he was forced out in a two-thirds majority vote by the GOP-dominated body after he and two Democratic colleagues participated in a demonstration calling for gun reform on the chamber floor.

A rally will happen nearby: A rally in support of Pearson will be unfolding about a mile away at the National Civil Rights Museum, starting at noon local time.

Pearson and Rep. Justin Jones, who are Black, were expelled, though Jones was reinstated as an interim member and returned to the state House victorious Monday, following a unanimous vote by the Nashville Metropolitan Council. Rep. Gloria Johnson kept her seat even though she was a part of the demonstration on the floor of the House.

The Republican supermajority voted to punish Pearson and Jones, of Nashville, after they — alongside Johnson of Knoxville — broke procedural rules to lead a protest from the House floor calling for gun law reforms.

The vote to return Pearson to his seat – vacated last Thursday when the GOP-dominated chamber expelled the state representative after he and two other Democrats called for gun reform on the chamber floor – came after the board voted to suspend a rule that would have required a waiting period between his nomination and confirmation.

As he announced Wednesday’s special meeting, Lowery said he understood the Republican leadership’s desire to send “a strong message” to Pearson and Jones. But he also said it was a hasty process that brought an “unfortunate” outcome.

The expulsion vote was deemed to be a “back to the past” by Otis Sanford, a professor of political science at the University of Memphis.

Young people will get more involved with politics in the state of Tennessee if predictions are correct. He also says the lawmakers who were singled out could have bright futures.

“On a more positive note, both Justin Jones and Justin Pearson, I think, showed the voters in their districts exactly why they should be reelected,” Sanford said. “But also, it seems like they made themselves look like future political stars nationally.”

Pearson told supporters at the meeting that they cannot expel hope. You can not remove our voice and you cannot get rid of our fight. We will continue to work and advocate.

It is a problem in Nashville that is being held onto because of the status quo. Their allegiance is to the way that things are. Their allegiance is to business as usual. Their loyalties are with the National Rifle Association.

The Awakening of the Nashville Shooting: The Future of the Tennessee Guns Movement in the Presence of a Demonstration

Jones was appointed to the interim House seat after being kicked out of the house, and it is expected that Pearson will be appointed as well.

“The Republican-led supermajority of the Tennessee General Assembly sought to have a political lynching of three of its members because we spoke out of turn against the status quo of the government, after the tragic deaths of six people in the shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville,” Pearson said at an Easter Sunday service at The Church of the River in Memphis.

If his nomination passes with a simple majority, the council will need a two-thirds vote to suspend a rule that requires a cooling-off period before a final confirmation vote.

If that vote passes, Pearson could return to the House as soon as Thursday, when he and a certified copy of the minutes from the council meeting are expected to arrive in Nashville, where lawmakers will be in session at 9 a.m.

Pearson’s expulsion was “conducted in a hasty manner without consideration of other corrective action methods” according to a statement from the commission chairman over the weekend.

Lowery said that the leaders in the State Capitol understand the importance of this action on behalf of the affected citizens, and that they stand ready to work with them to assist with only positive outcomes going forward.

The debate over guns boiled over in Tennessee as a result of the Nashville Christian school mass shooting that left at least six people dead, including three young children.

Jones, Pearson and Johnson took to the state House floor to advocate for gun control, using a bullhorn to address their colleagues and demonstrators who had gathered at the Capitol.

Jones and his supporters marched four blocks from City Hall to the Capitol after a unanimous vote by the Nashville council to bring him back as an interim representative.

Democracy will not be killed in the comfort of silence, Jones said. We sent a clear message to Speaker of the House. The people will not allow his crimes against democracy to happen without a fight.

If you have doubted the South, if you have doubted the movement to end assault weapons, if you have doubts about the power of Tennesseans in advocating for an end to gun violence, here is your answer: The movement still lives.

Speaker’s Corner: Arkansas GOP Governor Calls for Stronger Gun Control Measures in the Light of the Louisville Mass Shooting and a “Painful Moment of Pain”

Sexton earlier indicated he would not stand in the way of the appointments should local officials choose to send Jones and Pearson back to the chamber.

“The two governing bodies will make the decision as to who they want to appoint to these seats,” a spokesperson for the speaker’s office told CNN on Monday. “Those two individuals will be seated as representatives as the constitution requires.”

Jones indicated after his return that he would call for gun reform legislation in the wake of the mass shooting in Nashville.

The Louisville shooting is a “painful moment of recognition that our legislators and people like Cameron Sexton and the Republican Party in Tennessee and across the South in this country are not doing nearly enough to prevent guns from getting in the hands of people and doing all of the holistic work of gun prevention that is necessary in places across our communities,” Pearson told CNN.

Tennessee GOP governor calls for tougher gun restrictions: Bill Lee, a Republican governor in Tennessee, urged his legislature to pass additional gun control measures.

An order of protection law should be brought forward by the General Assembly. A new strong order of protection law will provide the broader population cover, safety, from those who are a danger to themselves or the population,” Lee said at a news conference, adding that he would like to pass the legislation within the current legislative session, which ends in a few weeks.

The governor said specifics for the order of protection plan had yet to be determined but encouraged lawmakers from both parties to work together on the matter.