IV 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 292 
Condemning the expulsion of two Black, duly elected Tennessee Representa-
tives as a blatant act of racism and an attack on the democracy of 
the United States and observing that the Tennessee House of Represent-
atives preferred to take this action of expulsion rather than to act 
on gun control measures to protect children. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 13, 2023 
Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE (for herself, Mr. COHEN, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. 
IVEY, Ms. PRESSLEY, Ms. NORTON, Mr. CARTER of Louisiana, Mr. BOW-
MAN, Mr. EVANS, Mr. MULLIN, Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia, Mrs. WATSON 
COLEMAN, and Mr. GREEN of Texas) submitted the following resolution; 
which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 
RESOLUTION 
Condemning the expulsion of two Black, duly elected Ten-
nessee Representatives as a blatant act of racism and 
an attack on the democracy of the United States and 
observing that the Tennessee House of Representatives 
preferred to take this action of expulsion rather than 
to act on gun control measures to protect children. 
Whereas, on November 8, 2022, the people of House District 
52 elected Justin Jones in the general election for the 
Tennessee House of Representatives; 
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•HRES 292 IH 
Whereas, on November 8, 2022, the people of House District 
90 elected Gloria Johnson in the general election for the 
Tennessee House of Representatives; 
Whereas, on March 14, 2023, the people of House District 
86 elected Justin J. Pearson in the special election for 
the Tennessee House of Representatives; 
Whereas, on March 27, 2023, a school shooting with legally 
bought weapons took place at The Covenant School in 
Nashville, Tennessee; 
Whereas, on March 30, 2023, Representatives Pearson, 
Jones, and Johnson led a gun control protest on the 
House floor following the mass shooting, advocating for 
the passage of gun reform legislation; 
Whereas Republicans in the Tennessee General Assembly 
claimed that these elected officials brought ‘‘disorder and 
dishonor’’ to the Tennessee House of Representatives for 
fighting for common-sense gun reform legislation fol-
lowing the tragic murder of three children and three 
adults at The Covenant School; 
Whereas, on April 6, 2023, the Tennessee House of Rep-
resentatives expelled two Black lawmakers, Justin Jones 
in a 72 to 25 vote and Justin J. Pearson in a 69 to 26 
vote, for exercising their constitutional right to protest; 
Whereas expulsion has only been used in rare circumstances 
including in 1866 for attempting to prevent passage of 
the 14th Amendment, in 1980 for bribery, and in 2016 
for sexual misconduct; 
Whereas the White lawmaker, Representative Gloria Johnson, 
who joined the protest alongside Representative Jones 
and Representative Pearson, was not expelled; 
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Whereas Representative Jones and Representative Pearson 
represented the State’s largest cities, with large Black 
populations; 
Whereas, as a result, over 136,000 Tennesseans in Memphis 
and Nashville have had their democratic right to rep-
resentation stripped from them; 
Whereas this act of expelling Representative Jones and Rep-
resentative Pearson silences Black American voices, fur-
ther perpetuating the historical disenfranchisement of 
Black Americans; 
Whereas until the United States reckons with its blatant and 
perpetual racism, the country will continue to be divided, 
and democracy will continue to be threatened; 
Whereas elected officials in the United States must under-
stand it is their duty to break the American cycle of sys-
temic racism seeped within the country; 
Whereas it is the responsibility of all elected officials to make 
decisions for the benefit of all Americans; 
Whereas, as of March 2023, roughly 130 counted mass shoot-
ings have occurred in the United States in 2023; 
Whereas, in June 2021, Tennessee Republicans enacted a law 
to allow permitless carry of handguns, both concealed 
and unconcealed, for people 21 years or older; 
Whereas, in February 2023, Tennessee Republicans intro-
duced a bill to expand permitless carry to include all fire-
arms despite concerns from the Tennessee Department of 
Safety and Homeland Security; 
Whereas section 1 of the 15th Amendment to the Constitu-
tion states: ‘‘The right of citizens of the United States 
to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United 
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States or by any state on account of race, color, or pre-
vious condition of servitude.’’; 
Whereas the continuation of democracy in the United States 
is an active process that requires the vigilance and action 
of those who are appointed and elected to preserve it; and 
Whereas the continuation of democracy in the United States 
requires accountability for those who seek to damage it: 
Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) condemns the expulsion of elected members 
of the Tennessee General Assembly, Justin Jones 
and Justin J. Pearson; 
(2) recognizes these expulsions are attacks on 
the fundamental ideals and livelihoods of American 
democracy; 
(3) acknowledges that the expulsion of two 
Black lawmakers in a show of overt racism was the 
preferred action of the Republican-led Tennessee 
House of Representatives so as to avoid further dis-
cussion of gun control measures that could prevent 
the death of more innocent schoolchildren and teach-
ers; and 
(4) believes we have a gun violence crisis and 
that State and Federal lawmakers should take ac-
tion to prevent future gun violence. 
Æ 
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