NASHVILLE — Local officials in Nashville unanimously voted to appoint one of two expelled Democratic lawmakers back to his seat in the state House of Representatives, a swift rebuke to the Republican supermajority over its decision to expel the two lawmakers for leading a gun control protest on the House floor.
The Metropolitan Nashville Council voted to temporarily appoint Justin Jones back to his Nashville seat in the state legislature, just days after Republicans overwhelmingly voted to expel him. The move by the Nashville councilors paves the way for Mr. Jones to be quickly reinstated to his seat, ahead of a special election later this year.
President Biden and other high-ranking national officials had voiced their anger at what they viewed as an overly punitive and undemocratic action against two young Black lawmakers, Mr. Jones and Justin J. Pearson of Memphis, who were expelled on Thursday. A third lawmaker who joined the protest, Gloria Johnson, who is white and more senior in the legislature, narrowly avoided expulsion by one vote.
The vote on Monday deepens the bitter rift between Nashville’s council and Tennessee’s Republican supermajority, which has flexed its control over liberal-leaning areas and moved to rein in the autonomy of the state’s largest cities. Just hours before the vote, a judicial panel temporarily halted a law that would slash the council in half, after Nashville sued the state.
The council voted 36 to 0 to send Mr. Jones, the only person nominated, back to the House.
In Memphis, the Shelby County Board of Commissioners was set to consider sending Mr. Pearson back to the legislature on Wednesday. Both Mr. Jones and Mr. Pearson will also have the opportunity to run again for their respective seats in the coming months, and have both said they would do so.
“We will continue to fight for our constituents,” Mr. Jones said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday. Mr. Pearson, speaking in the same interview, added, “They are afraid of the changes that are happening in our society and the voices that are elevated.”
On Monday, dozens of people rallied outside the meeting in Nashville, carrying signs that read “No Justin, No Peace,” a riff on the “No justice, no peace” chants that were part of the protest that led the expulsion of the two representatives. A crowd of boisterous supporters welcomed Mr. Jones with cheers and applause, before breaking into song, including a brief rendition of “This Little Light of Mine.”
Six red and black ribbons hung on the dais at the front of the room, in honor of the six people killed in a shooting last month at a Nashville Christian school, the attack that spurred the renewed gun control protests. A councilor, Zulfat Suara, offered an opening prayer that recognized the school shooting and a mass shooting earlier Monday in Kentucky.
The decision to expel the two Democrats has further angered hundreds of students, teachers and parents already frustrated with the Republican-controlled legislature’s unwillingness to take up any measure that would restrict access to guns.
Lawyers for the men — a group that includes Eric H. Holder Jr., the former U.S. attorney general — warned the legislature on Monday against any further action against them or their cities.
“Any partisan retributive action, such as the discriminatory treatment of elected officials, or threats or actions to withhold funding for government programs, would constitute further unconstitutional action that would require redress,” the lawyers wrote on Monday in a letter to Speaker Cameron Sexton, a Republican.
Republican leaders have acknowledged that the lawmakers could return to their positions in the House, even as they have repeatedly defended their decision to oust them.
“The two governing bodies will make the decision as to who they want to appoint to these seats,” said Doug Kufner, a spokesman for Mr. Sexton. “Those two individuals will be seated as representatives as the constitution requires.”
Emily Cochrane
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