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The announcement shocked civil rights advocates, who countered that the state's system is already arduous and this latest requirement will only further worsen voter disenfranchisement throughout the state. However, in GOP-dominant Tennessee, Republican leaders have repeatedly shrugged off calls to reform the state's voting-rights restoration policy. Voting rights advocates have argued the legal interpretation was way off-base. The change, instituted by elections officials in July, has since halted almost all voting rights restorations: More than 60 people were denied and just one person approved. “It's un-American.”Democratic Rep. Joe Towns likened the state's policy to Jim Crow-era laws that were put in place with the intent of stopping Black people from participating in elections.

Persons: —, shouldn't, ”, William Lamberth, you’ve, it’s, We’ve, Cameron Sexton, Randy McNally, I’m, they’ve, ” McNally, “, Sen, Raumesh, wasn't, Mark Goins, ” Akbari, “ It's, Joe Towns, Jim Crow Organizations: Associated Press, GOP, Republican, Democratic, AP, “, Tennessee Constitution, Assembly, ” Democratic Locations: Tenn, Tennessee, Raumesh Akbari, Memphis

The three state court judges sided with Nashville officials who sued, ruling that the law targeted Nashville alone and didn't include the local involvement required under the Tennessee Constitution's home rule protections. The ruling ousts the new Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority board, which awarded six of eight appointments to state officials and two to the mayor. The decision marks another win in court for Nashville officials over the slate of state restrictions passed this year to limit their authority. The new airport law, which brought on changes to the board on July 1, quickly created confusion. Meanwhile, the board with the state appointees was quickly installed, with the airport board arguing that it couldn’t defy a state law without a court order.

Persons: “, Democratic Sen, Jeff Yarbro, Cameron Sexton, ”, Wally Dietz Organizations: Nashville International, Republicans, Democratic, Nashville, Tennessee, Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority, Republican, NASCAR, Federal Aviation Administration, International Airport, FedEx —, Convention Locations: Tenn, Tennessee, Nashville

Additionally, the lawsuit by the Nashville member of the “Tennessee Three” contends his constitutional due process rights were infringed upon by the expulsion proceedings. Jones, Pearson and Johnson were propelled into the national spotlight. They said the new House rules promote civility, respect and accountability. On the day the House voted to silence Jones, Sexton had warned Jones about calling a Republican's bills “reprehensible,” “asinine,” and “insulting." In addition to the limits on debate, House Republicans also instituted a ban on the public holding signs during floor and committee proceedings.

Persons: Justin Jones, Jones, Cameron Sexton, ”, Justin Pearson, Gloria Johnson, Pearson, Johnson, Amy Wilhite, hadn't, Sexton, Bill Lee, “, Jerry Martin, Eric Holder, Holder Organizations: — Tennessee Democratic, Nashville, Tennessee, Black Democrat, Republicans, Democratic Rep, Republican Gov, Covenant School, Glock, Republican, U.S Locations: Tenn, Nashville, Tennessee

☆ Tennessee governor's push for gun laws fails as lawmakers scuffle
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( Brad Brooks | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] Tennessee State Senators on the chamber floor and advocates for gun law reform in the gallery pray during a special session on public safety to discuss gun violence in the wake of the Covenant School shooting, in Nashville, Tennessee, U.S., August 29, 2023. REUTERS/Cheney Orr Acquire Licensing RightsAug 29 (Reuters) - A special legislative session in Tennessee called by the state's Republican governor in response to a deadly school shooting ended on Tuesday with no progress on gun safety laws, capped by a brief scuffle between opposing lawmakers. Jones and Pearson, both of whom are Black members of the predominantly white House, have been outspoken proponents of new gun laws to help ease violence in the urban areas they represent. That sentiment was not shared by Sarah Shoop Neuman, the parent of a Covenant student who lobbied lawmakers for new gun laws. After the session ended, she told reporters it was difficult for her to comprehend that children were murdered at school, yet lawmakers "took no meaningful action."

Persons: Cheney Orr, Bill Lee, Cameron Sexton, Justin Jones, Justin Pearson, Jones, Pearson, Lee, Sarah Shoop Neuman, Brad Brooks, Donna Bryson, Leslie Adler Organizations: Tennessee State Senators, Covenant School, REUTERS, Republican, The Covenant School, U.S, U.S . Constitution, Democratic, Covenant, Thomson Locations: Nashville , Tennessee, U.S, Tennessee, Nashville, U.S ., Longmont , Colorado

☆ Tennessee G.O.P. Again Silences Democratic Lawmaker Justin Jones
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-28 | by ( Emily Cochrane | More About Emily Cochrane | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Tennessee’s House Republicans on Monday again silenced Representative Justin Jones, a Black Democrat who was expelled earlier this year in a gun control protest, after he was deemed to have violated new stringent rules of decorum. Democrats left the House chamber in protest after Mr. Jones was barred from speaking on the floor for the remainder of the day, while chants of “fascists” and “racists” broke out in the gallery overhead. Republicans ordered state troopers to clear the galleries. The uproar came when Speaker Cameron Sexton and chamber leaders decided that Mr. Jones, for the second time in the day, had breached the rules of the House by speaking out of turn. This time, Mr. Jones had suggested, during a debate about increasing the number of police officers in schools, that the state’s resources should be focused instead on mental health professionals and teacher pay — comments Mr. Sexton said were off-topic.

Persons: Justin Jones, Jones, ”, Cameron Sexton, Sexton Organizations: Tennessee’s, Republicans, Monday, Black Democrat

☆ A Christian group has amassed more than 12,000 signatures to oust the Tennessee Republican leader who expelled two Black lawmakers
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-15 | by ( Katie Balevic | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Christians are calling for Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton's resignation. A petition gained more than 12,500 signatures after Sexton led a vote that expelled two Black lawmakers. A lone white lawmaker, who stood with the two expelled members, was spared in the expulsion vote. Thousands of Christians are calling for the resignation of Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton, a Republican, who sparked national outrage for heading a vote that expelled two Black lawmakers earlier this month. Audio leaked by The Tennessee Holler last week appeared to reveal infighting among Tennessee Republican lawmakers, some of whom complained that they had been labeled racists following the expulsion vote.

MEMPHIS, Tennessee, April 12 (Reuters) - Local government officials in Memphis, Tennessee, voted on Wednesday to return the second of two Democratic state lawmakers who were expelled last week for protesting gun violence on the chamber floor. Seven of the board's 13 councilors were present for the meeting, and all seven voted in favor of Pearson's return. He is expected to return to the State Capitol in Nashville on Thursday to be sworn back in. Democrats in the U.S. Senate have asked the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate whether the expelled lawmakers' constitutional rights were violated. Before marching with supporters to the commissioners' meeting, Pearson, joined by Jones and Johnson, addressed a crowd of about 500 outside the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis.

☆ Opinion: Why expelling me from the legislature backfired on Tennessee Republicans
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Justin J. Pearson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Editor’s Note: Tennessee Rep. Justin J. Pearson is a Democrat and former community activist in Memphis. And yet, calls for common sense gun reform measures fall on deaf ears in our legislature where a Republican supermajority is wildly out of step with most people’s values. People in Tennessee aren’t even required to purchase a permit to publicly carry guns in the state of Tennessee. And we are required by the Tennessee State Constitution to object to policies injurious to the well-being of our constituents. My constituents sent me to the Tennessee State House to continue this work in their name.

NASHVILLE, Tennessee, April 10 (Reuters) - Tennessee state Representative Justin Jones returned to the state House on Monday, pumping his fist and declaring "power to the people" as a Nashville-area council restored him to office following his expulsion over a gun protest. The Metropolitan Council of Nashville and Davidson County voted 36-0 on Monday to make Jones, 27, the interim representative. REUTERS/Cheney Orr 1 2 3 4 5"I want to welcome the people back to the people's house," Jones said in brief remarks upon being reseated. Addressing supporters before the vote, Jones accused the Republicans of operating "plantation politics" and abuse of power. Before the vote, the spokesperson said the House would seat whomever the county legislatures appoint "as the constitution requires."

☆ Nashville board reinstates Black lawmaker expelled from Tennessee House
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Omar Younis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

NASHVILLE, Tennessee, April 10 (Reuters) - A Nashville-area county council on Monday voted to reinstate Representative Justin Jones to the Tennessee House of Representatives, reversing Republican lawmakers who ousted Jones and another young, Black legislator last week for staging a gun control protest on the House floor. The Metropolitan Council of Nashville and Davidson County voted 36-0 to make Jones, 27, the interim representative. Before the vote, the spokesperson said the House would seat whomever the county legislatures appoint "as the constitution requires." Jones and Pearson, 28, have both said they hoped to be reappointed and that they would run again in special elections. Republicans also targeted Gloria Johnson, who is white, for expulsion, as she joined Jones and Pearson in the floor protest.

☆ Nashville-area board may return lawmaker expelled from Republican-controlled statehouse
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Daniel Trotta | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

April 10 (Reuters) - A Nashville-area county council meeting on Monday may vote to return to the statehouse one of two Democratic Tennessee lawmakers who were expelled from the chamber last week after participating in a gun control protest. Returning Jones would send a pointed message to the Republicans who expelled him. A Memphis-area board of commissioners plans on Wednesday to consider reappointing Pearson on an interim basis to the seat from which he was removed. U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris flew to Nashville on Friday to support the three Tennessee lawmakers targeted for expulsion. Jones, 27, was elected to Tennessee's House of Representatives last year.

☆ Tennessee state legislature has 'always been a toxic work environment,' according to ousted Black lawmakers who say they've had a' target' on them from the start
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Natalie Musumeci | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Two ousted Tennessee lawmakers said that the state legislature has always been "toxic." Former Reps. Justin Jones and Justin Pearson told NBC News they've always had a "target" on them. Jones and Pearson were expelled last week by their GOP colleagues over their gun control protest. "It has always been a toxic work environment to work in the Tennessee State Capitol," Pearson said during an interview Sunday on NBC News' "Meet the Press" alongside Jones. Jones also accused the GOP-led Tennessee House of Representatives of being "more beholden to the NRA than their own people and their own districts" and specifically called out Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton.

☆ Tennessee Republicans expelled two Democratic legislators who protested with anti-gun activists in the House
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Madison Hall | Azmi Haroun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Republicans in the Tennessee legislature just expelled a member for leading a gun reform protest in the House of Chambers. The Tennessee House of Representatives voted 75-25 on Thursday to expel state Rep. Justin Jones. The Tennessee House voted 75-25 on Thursday to expel Jones, with Rep. Justin Pearson also expelled after a 69-26 vote, according to CNN. Only two members of the Tennessee House have been expelled over the last 157 years. President Joe Biden addressed the Tennessee House leadership's focus on expelling the three, calling the move, "undemocratic."

☆ A Tennessee legislator facing expulsion from the House for protesting gun violence during a session says other lawmakers have done much worse and weren't immediately punished
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Rebecca Cohen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

One of the lawmakers facing expulsion told Insider that past legislators in the Tennessee House have done much worse than what they did but were not immediately punished for their actions. "It's unprecedented because we have had disruptions bigger than that where no one was even reprimanded," Rep. Gloria Johnson told Insider Tuesday. "I knew we were breaking a House rule, and I know there is a consequence for breaking a House rule," Johnson told Insider. Rep. Justin Pearson, Rep. Justin Jones, Rep. Gloria Johnson People hold their hands up as they exit the House Chamber doors at the Tennessee State Capitol Building, in Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. April 3, 2023. "I want to stop the guns before they ever get to the schoolhouse doors," Johnson told Insider.

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