WHEREAS, On March 27, 2023, a shooting occurred at The Covenant School, a private religious school in Nashville, Tennessee that resulted in the death of three nine-year old children, Evelyn Dieckhaus, William Kinney, Hallie Scruggs, and three staff members, Katherine Koonce (60), Cynthia Peak (61), and Mike Hill (61).

WHEREAS, News of this tragedy devastated many people and started a movement to highlight a persistent issue in this nation: gun violence and mass shootings.

WHEREAS, More than 1,000 peaceful protesters rallied around Tennessee’s State Capitol on March 30, 2023, calling for more restrictive gun laws and gun control. The rally then made its way to the Capitol Floor.

WHEREAS, Three Democratic members of Tennessee House of Representatives, Gloria Johnson, Justin Pearson, and Justin Jones were threatened to be expelled from office for their roles in the protest.

WHEREAS, On April 6, 2023, the Tennessee House of Representatives voted on whether or not these three Representatives should stay in office after it was determined that they violated decorum. Of these three Representatives, Justin Pearson and Justin Jones, who are African-American, were expelled.

WHEREAS, The only Democratic Representative to be exonerated after the initial resolution was passed was Gloria Johnson, who said, “It might have something to do with the color of our skin.”

WHEREAS, The expulsion of Pearson and Jones was undemocratic. The resolutions to expel the Democratic Representatives were filed by three Republican Representatives, Andrew Farmer, Gino Bulso, and Bud Hulsey.

WHEREAS, The expulsion of the Representatives caused national uproar. Vice President Kamala Harris said on Friday, April 7, 2023, that the state House’s act “wasn’t about the three” Democrats. “It’s about whose voices they were channeling. Understand that.”

WHEREAS, The actions of the Tennessee Legislature were further unjust because the Constitution allows for freedom of speech and freedom of protest, rights that the Representatives were penalized for exercising.

WHEREAS, President Joe Biden thanked the three Democratic Representatives for their leadership. In an earlier statement on Thursday, April 6, 2023, President Biden called the expulsions “shocking, undemocratic, and without precedent.” “Rather than debating the merits of the issue [of gun control], these Republican lawmakers have chosen to punish, silence, and expel duly-elected Representatives of the people of Tennessee,” the President said.

WHEREAS, Issues that the Representatives were protesting continue to be a prevalent problem in this country. We are suffering from a mass shooting epidemic. We continuously have to mourn the loss of babies, children, adults, and the elderly. Enough is enough!

WHEREAS, Representatives Johnson, Pearson, and Jones were within their rights to testify in favor of tighter gun control measures.

WHEREAS, Under the Tennessee Constitution, Section 27 of Article 2, any member of either House of the general Assembly, has liberty to dissent from, and protest against, any act or resolve which they may think is injurious to the public or to any individual, and to have the reasons for their dissent entered on the journals.

WHEREAS, We reside in a nation where our constitutional rights ought to be guaranteed, but despite our best efforts, we continue to experience the same issues that others have struggled to resolve. These recurring concerns were fought for by civil rights leaders such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Thurgood Marshall, and Rosa Parks.

WHEREAS, The actions of the Tennessee House of Representatives threaten our democracy and nation because injustices like this one continue to be committed.

WHEREAS, We as a nation should fear that other states will follow in the steps of Tennessee, and remaining silent could perpetuate the same issues of injustice. As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. proclaimed, “A time comes when silence is betrayal.”