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CHUCKLES visits with the “Tennessee Three” to talk gibberish and word salad about UNDUHMOCRACY and stuff. VP Harris meets with expelled Democratic Tenn. lawmakers, leads rally
By David Mendez and Justin Tasolides Tennessee UPDATED 9:11 PM ET Apr. 07, 2023 PUBLISHED 1:25 PM ET Apr. 07, 2023 Quote:Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday traveled to Nashville, Tenn., to meet with, and attend a rally supporting, the “Tennessee Three” — a trio of Democratic lawmakers who faced expulsion from the state’s legislature over their protest following a deadly school shooting. “We are here because they and their colleagues … they chose to show courage in the face of an extreme tragedy,” Harris said. “They chose to lead and show courage. To say that a democracy allows for places where the people’s voice will be heard and honored and respected.”
The trip came one day after two of the lawmakers — Reps. Justin Jones, who represents Nashville, and Justin Pearson, who represents Memphis — were expelled from the GOP-controlled body as a direct result of their pro-gun control protest on the State Assembly floor. A third Democrat who also participated in the protest, Gloria Johnson, who represents Nashville, survived the expulsion measure by one vote. Jones and Pearson are Black. Johnson is white.
Harris first met with the three lawmakers, as well as the rest of the state legislature's Democratic caucus and protesters who have led gun control demonstrations, at Fisk University, a historically Black college in Nashville, before taking to a rally in support of both the three lawmakers and gun control legislation.
There, she anchored a lineup of leaders from within the community and young activists from area schools and colleges. To a one, speakers testified in support of the three lawmakers, and Jones and Pearson in particular, with many promising to return the pair to the legislature.
“History is watching,” Vanderbilt sophomore and Students Demand Action volunteer Iman Omer said to lawmakers. “Young people are watching you. And we’re going to vote for legislators who protect us.”
Thie issue, Harris said, is that legislators must have “the courage to act … instead of cowardice to not allow debate and to not allow a discussion on the merits of what is at stake.” She added, seemingly directed toward Tennessee legislators, that “you can’t call yourself a leader if you don’t have the courage to know what is right and act on it, regardless of the popularity of the moment.”
Harris was part of the growing chorus of voices condemning Tennessee Republicans for voting to expel the lawmakers, calling their actions "undemocratic and dangerous."
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https://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2023/04/07/vice-president-harris-tennessee-three-democrats-gun-control-nashville
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