Local democratic reaction to TN House members expelled

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) — Tennessee Republican lawmakers are getting a lot of flak after two democratic state representatives were expelled last night.

Democratic lawmakers Justin Pearson and Justin Jones, who are both black, were expelled after storming the state House to call for gun control. Only days after the Covenant school shooting.

Their white colleague, Gloria Johnson, who protested with them, was not expelled.

Local Democrats say they weren’t surprised by the vote.

“I think it lays bare that this republican party cares about nothing but themselves,” Hamilton County Democratic Chair member Rachel Campbell said. “And it is a coincidence that the two black members were ejected but the one white member was not.”

“This generation is not that kind of generation,” said Democratic State Representative Yusuf Hakeem. “And so, they want to express themselves. You acted like you did not want to hear what they had to say, so they had to get the legislators attention.”

The votes came primarily along party lines.