State Rep. Justin Pearson, the second of two Black Democrats who was kicked out of the Republican-led Tennessee House, was sworn back in as a state representative a week after being expelled for participating in a gun control protest.
, of Memphis, was sworn in Thursday outside the Statehouse. The day before, Shelby County commissioners unanimously voted to reinstate him.Advertisement
Before Pearson returned to the chamber, lawmakers cheered and applauded as the police officers who responded to the deadly March 27 mass shooting at a— the event that prompted the gun control protest — were honored in the chamber. Democratic state Rep. Bob Freeman praised the officers’ bravery but also stressed to his fellow lawmakers that “inaction is not an option” on how to respond to the tragedy.
“Our law enforcement, which many people praise, are being forced to go to war when they just are going to work,” Pearson said. “Kids are told to go to fortresses, instead of to go to school and places of learning. We’re told to go to church, carrying the status quo’s thoughts and prayers, while we must be in fear that somebody will walk in with an assault weapon.”
The appointments are interim, though both Jones and Pearson plan to run in special elections for the seats later this year. The expulsions last Thursday made Tennessee a new front in the battle for the future of American democracy. In the span of a few days, the two raised thousands of campaign dollars and the Tennessee Democratic Party received a new jolt of support from across the U.S.
In Tennessee, Republican lawmakers have been supportive of the idea to strengthen school safety, but they have largely rejected calls for stricter gun controls with only weeks to go in the legislative session.
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