Tennessee’s House of Representatives voted to adopt HR65 on Thursday, ousting State Representative Justin Jones, a Democrat from Nashville, for his participation in a demonstration for stricter gun laws on the chamber floor last week.

Jones was the first of three lawmakers taken to task by three Republican representatives for their protest involving a bullhorn on the floor of the lower House.   

Republican House Speaker Cameron Sexton equated the anti-gun demonstration by Democratic Reps. Gloria Johnson, Justin Jones, and Justin Pearson to an ‘insurrection.’

The three lawmakers are accused of “disorderly behavior” and dishonoring the chamber after they loudly voiced their dissent and called for a ban on assault weapons following the mass shooting of three elementary school students and three faculty members in Nashville last week.

The 72-25 vote was an extraordinary move the chamber has used only a handful times since the American Civil War. 

Two additional Democratic lawmakers were also facing removal from the Tennessee House of Representatives on Thursday, after Republican lawmakers pushed a vote on their expulsion after the three staged a demonstration in the chamber calling for stricter gun control in the state.  

The House has convened on Thursday ahead of the vote to the oust Tennessee state Reps. Justin Pearson of Memphis, Gloria Johnson of Knoxville, and Justin Jones of Nashville. The three faced expulsion for chanting  “No action, no peace” through a bullhorn.  

On Monday, Speaker of the Tennessee House Cameron Sexton revoked the lawmakers’ access to the State Capitol and pulled each from their committee assignments, saying their ‘unacceptable,’ protest violated House decorum.

“It’s morally insane that a week after a mass shooting took six precious lives in my community here in Nashville, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, their first action is not to take actions to rein in this proliferation of weapons of war in our streets, but it’s to expel their colleagues for standing with our constituents,” Justin Jones said to CNN on Wednesday.

Three Republican representatives brought separate resolutions calling for the expulsion of the three Democrats,  alleging ‘disorder,’ ‘dishonor’ to the House and ‘disruptive conduct,’  on Monday, which passed a procedural vote in the GOP-controlled House. Expulsions are considered rare in American politics.  

Two-thirds of the House will have to vote in favor of each expulsion for the seats to be vacated.  

Protesters could be seen gathered outside the Tennessee House of Representatives ahead of the vote Thursday.

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