Former state representative Justin Jones, who was recently expelled from the Tennessee House Representatives, might be reinstated as early as Monday as Nashville’s metro council is going to try to reappoint him so that he can take back his seat.
Jones and fellow Democratic lawmaker Justin Pearson were recently expelled by the Republican-controlled state house over their participation in a recent gun control protest following the March 27 Nashville Covenant School shooting.
State Rep. Gloria Johnson, D., who was the third Democrat involved in the protest narrowly managed to not be expelled. This has led to many calling the Republican house racist as the two Black people, Jones and Pearson, connected to the protests were removed while at the same time, Johnson who is White was not removed.
Jones and Pearson have argued that being removed from their seats was a tactic for voter disenfranchisement and voter suppression.
This position however has been opposed by many with Fox News contributor David Webb rebuffing these statements by claiming that the voters were not being “silenced.” He added that even if those two are not reappointed, then voters get the choice to vote for their preferred candidate in a special election. He further claimed that these people were “not interested in representing their district.”
He proceeded to say that all three Democrats should have been expelled and that this had nothing to do with their skin color and it was instead a decision that was made because they had violated the rules.
