Rep. Justin Pearson spoke at the Tuesday, April 4, ceremony at the National Civil Rights Museum marking the 55th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. 

The White House reaction to the threatened expulsion of three Democratic state Representatives by the majority Republican leadership of the Tennessee House includes calls for an assault weapons ban among other measures.

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Rep. Justin Pearson says move to expel is ‘persecution'

General Assembly introduces resolutions to expel Justin Pearson, two other Democrats

Tennessee Republicans on Monday, April 3, introduced resolutions to expel state Reps. Justin Pearson, Justin Jones and Gloria Johnson after their protest in favor of gun-safety legislation last week. They could be voted on as soon as Thursday.

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House Speaker accuses Memphis Democrat, two others of ‘insurrection’

The Democrats — Reps. Gloria Johnson and Justin Jones — could face expulsion, along with Rep. Justin Pearson, who also participated in the protest. Pearson had no legislative committee assignments to be stripped from.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee has proposed $140 million to establish a school resource officer (SRO) grant fund that would place a trained, armed security guard at every public school in the state, among other measures.

A massive protest for gun safety legislation on Thursday, March 30, overshadowed the passage of one of Gov. Bill Lee’s top priorities.

The new state law, which prohibits drag shows where children might be present, would have gone into effect Saturday, April 1. 

Friends of George’s, a Memphis LGBTQ+ theater company, recently filed a First Amendment challenge to Tennessee’s new “drag ban” in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee.

Tennessee Republicans said they are open to red flag laws like Florida’s, but they were largely unmoved by the biggest protest at the State Capitol in recent years. “I thought it would be more than just talking to a door,” one student protester said.

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Protesters in Nashville demand Tennessee legislators ‘do something’ on guns

Protesters filled the Tennessee State Capitol on Thursday, March 30, to demand tougher gun safety laws in the wake of the shooting deaths of three children and three adults at The Covenant School in Nashville.

Support for crisis pregnancy centers is part of Lee’s “pro-life” agenda after the Supreme Court ended the right to abortion. Many medical experts say these centers are unethical because they mislead clients and prioritize anti-abortion advocacy.

Cary Vaughn was re-elected Shelby County Republican chairman at the local party’s biennial convention, with a call for new blood and a focus on common ground.

In the bill, convicted people would be sentenced to life without parole for a combination of offenses that add up to three strikes. The state can’t accommodate the expected increase in incarceration with its current facilities, which are operating at 96% of capacity.

The sentencing has been canceled after the Germantown Republican last week asked to withdraw his two guilty pleas on campaign fraud charges.

The officers being decertified are Justin Smith, Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr. and Emmitt Martin III. 

In May, Tennessee will stop accepting HIV prevention funding from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, stripping local nonprofits of dollars they rely on to serve high-risk populations.

The only health conditions the amended bill mentions are ectopic and molar pregnancies. It does not mention preeclampsia, for example, and there are no exceptions for rape or incest.

Gov. Bill Lee’s budget does not include restoring the shared sales tax relationship and returning a fair share to municipalities. However, local mayors remain hopeful.

Lawyers for former state Sen. Brian Kelsey — who chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee — argued he pleaded guilty in November in part because of his “inexperience with the criminal justice system.”

Tennessee lawmakers are close to amending the state’s total abortion ban to allow doctors to terminate pregnancies to save patients’ lives. But the amended bill is more vague than the original about when abortion would be legal.

The rally was hosted by OUTMemphis and the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest LGBTQ civil rights organization. Other participating organizations included Choices Memphis and My Sistah’s House Memphis.

A new state bill working its way through the state legislature would provide options for deciding when to implement the third-grade retention process.

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Amendment to controversial third grade law passes first legal hurdle

County government celebrates its “MLGW independence day.” 

The special election to fill the vacancy for the state House seat held by the late Barbara Cooper was decided with the January primary. Democrat Justin J. Pearson is running unopposed on the Tuesday, March 14, ballot. He’s already serving in Nashville by appointment.

“The biggest challenge we are going to face in education moving forward is defining the intent of our legislators.”