Tennessee GOP expels two Democratic state lawmakers over gun control protest

Anderson Cooper 360

CNN

News

4.1 • 3.7K Ratings

🗓️ 7 April 2023

⏱️ 49 minutes

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Summary

The Tennessee Republican-controlled House of Representatives voted to expel two out of three Democrats who led a gun reform protest on the state House floor after a shooter killed six people, including three children, at the Covenant School in Nashville. Gloria Johnson survived the Republicans’ efforts by just one vote. Justin Jones is one of the Democratic lawmakers who was expelled from the Tennessee State House. He tells Anderson Cooper the vote was a way to “distract from the real issue” and what he plans to do in the future.

Plus, CNN Correspondent Hadas Gold joins AC360 from Northern Israel, where Israel launched retaliatory airstrikes in Gaza after a barrage of rockets were fired from Lebanon, which the Israeli military blamed on Palestinian militants.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Good evening, a remarkable scene tonight in the Tennessee House of Representatives.
0:04.9	We're waiting for a vote.
0:07.8	I should say, actually, a vote has just taken place in order to expel the last of the
0:11.2	three Democratic legislators.
0:15.0	We are still waiting on the results of that vote for a gun violence protest that they held
0:20.9	the last week on the floor of the House and the wake of the mass shooting in the Covenant
0:24.2	School just a few miles away.
0:26.6	The President of Justin Pearson of Memphis, who has just been speaking, he now, his fate,
0:33.4	hangs in the balance.
0:35.0	It'll be up to Republicans who control a two-thirds majority needed to expel him to decide
0:40.2	his fate.
0:41.2	Expelled earlier today, Representative Justin Jones of Nashville will talk with him
0:44.9	in just a moment, a measure to expel Representative Gloria Johnson of Knoxville, failed by a single
0:49.6	vote.
0:52.6	When they should keep watching, we are losing our democracy.
0:56.7	We need to make sure that we stomp out this march to fascism.
1:01.0	Absolute power corrupts absolutely and we cannot forget that.
1:05.5	Eyes on everything, folks.
1:08.0	Why do you feel like there was a difference in the outside?
1:14.0	I will answer your question.
1:15.6	It might have to do with the color of our skin.
1:20.0	I should point out that Justin Pearson now, the vote is just taking place, has been
	...

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