Around 140,000 people in predominantly Black districts in Nashville and Memphis are without a representative in the House after the expulsion of Justin Jones and Justin Pearson.
Former Tennessee representatives Justin Jones and Justin Pearson are seeking reappointments after being recently ejected from the Republican-controlled Tennessee House for participating in a demonstration that called for tighter gun laws.
Pearson and Jones said on "Meet the Press" Sunday that they plan on running in the upcoming special elections to formally regain their seats.
At a meeting on Monday that has been particularly called, the metro council of Nashville is likely to re-appoint Justin Jones to the position, according to The Associated Press. In a statement released on Sunday, Shelby County Commission Chairman Mickell Lowery announced that the board would decide whether to re-appoint Memphis resident Justin Pearson to his position at a meeting on Wednesday.
“I believe the expulsion of State Representative Justin Pearson was conducted in a hasty manner without consideration of other corrective action methods,” Lowery said in the statement.
As a result of the GOP supermajority's expulsion of Jones and Pearson on Thursday, around 140,000 people in predominantly Black districts in Nashville and Memphis no longer have a representative in the House, the AP reported.
Democratic Representatives Justin Jones, Gloria Johnson and Justin Pearson led a chant from the House floor to advocate for gun reform on March 30, as demonstrators gathered at the State Capitol.
Jones, 27, and Pearson, 28, both of whom are Black, were voted to be dismissed from the House, while the vote to dismiss Johnson, who is white, failed. The votes drew accusations of racism.
