‘Tennessee Three’ Meet With Biden at White House, Discuss Gun Laws

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris met with three Tennessee House Democrats at the White House on Monday to discuss gun control laws. Representatives Justin Jones, Justin Pearson, and Gloria Johnson shared their ideas on red flag laws, safe storage laws, assault weapons, universal background checks, and closing loopholes with the President. Johnson expressed her excitement about the interest in taking action, but the lawmakers did not disclose any specific actions that Biden discussed taking at the national level.

Jones spoke to reporters about the movement to have Southern states garner national attention to pass gun control laws. “This is not a moment, it is a movement,” he said. Pearson added that the group supported an upcoming special session where the Tennessee legislature would discuss gun control. The session was announced on April 21 by Republican Gov. Bill Lee, who described the session as one “to pass legislation that will strengthen public safety and preserve constitutional rights.”

Lawmakers Disrupted State House Proceedings

In late March, the three Tennessee lawmakers led hundreds of protesters to the Tennessee state Capitol to call for tighter gun control laws, disrupting state House proceedings. Jones and Pearson were expelled from the chamber by the GOP-controlled Tennessee House for their actions, although both were later reinstated on an interim basis by local officials. The two plan to run in a special election to finish their terms.

Republicans in the state House said all three lawmakers had violated decorum rules. Johnson, unlike Jones and Pearson, did not use a megaphone to lead chants during the protest, which may have been why she was spared from expulsion by a margin of just one vote.

The protest at the Tennessee state Capitol followed a school shooting in Nashville at C