A resolution to expel Knoxville District 90 Democratic Representative Gloria Johnson from the State House of Representatives has been filed following her removal from committee placements after her involvement in gun violence protests at the state capitol on Thursday, March 30.
Johnson’s removal and expulsion resolutions come alongside Representative Justin Jones’s, D-Nashville, removal from his committee appointments for his involvement in the protests.
Johnson Tweeted on Tuesday morning, asking people to be at the state Capitol on Thursday.
Representative Justin Pearson, D-Memphis, was also censured, however he had no committee placements to be removed from. Additionally, the representatives had their ID badges to get into the legislature deactivated.
No damage was done to the capitol, and no arrests were made according to Tennessee Highway Patrol officials.
The protests followed the Covenant school shooting in Nashville on March 27 that left six dead, three of whom were children under 10 years old.
On April 3, students from colleges and other schools around Nashville left the classroom and marched to the Tennessee Capitol to demand action from the state’s politicians.
Monday’s march made its way to the Capitol steps, after which youth activists, survivors, and families of shooting victims took turns speaking.
Protestors and state representatives alike expressed anger and concerns over Governor Bill Lee’s proposed legislation, claiming what the governor proposed isn’t enough.
“The need to put an armed security guard in every school is a result of the real problem. It is NOT a solution to the problem,” House Democratic Caucus Chairman John Ray Clemmons said. “I am appalled that Governor Lee would rather militarize our schools and make our children feel imprisoned in their own learning environment than reach across the aisle to pass common sense gun safety legislation.”
Story courtesy of WVLT
