Congressman Cohen Expresses Disappointment at Expulsion of Tennessee House Members Says he wishes "cooler heads would have prevailed"

Press Release

Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9) today closely followed the debate and vote of the Tennessee General Assembly expelling state Representatives Justin Pearson and Justin Jones and its failure to expel Representative Gloria Johnson based on their breach of decorum in the House Chamber last week, and made the following statement:

"As a longtime state Senator and current Member of Congress, I appreciate that certain rules of decorum are necessary for conducting the people's business in our state legislature. But I view the expulsion votes today as a provocative and disproportionate response to the breach of House rules prompted by the emotions triggered by last week's Covenant School shooting. I was pleased to see the effort to expel Representative Johnson fail. I wish cooler heads would have prevailed and prevented the disenfranchisement of the citizens of Memphis and Nashville the expulsions create, in addition to the special expense state taxpayers will now have in scheduling primary and general elections. Debate on the proper response to gun violence is an essential part of the democratic process. Today's votes were an embarrassing stain on an important democratic institution."

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