Two Democratic state representatives in Tennessee, both of them Black men, were expelled from the legislature on Thursday for breaking the chamber's supposed rules of decorum. A third representative, a white woman, was not expelled, although all three of them had done exactly the same thing: After another school shooting led to hours of go-nowhere gun-reform debate, they had brought floor action to a halt with protest chants and walked up to the speaker's well at the front of the chamber.
Rep. Justin Jones of Nashville was expelled on a 72-25 vote and Rep. Justin Pearson of Memphis, was expelled 69-26. The vote to expel Rep. Gloria Johnson of Knoxville failed at 65-30, one vote short of the necessary two-thirds.
