Tenn. House Expels 2 Black Lawmakers Who Protested For Tougher Gun Laws

Politico: Biden Condemns Tennessee House Vote To Expel Dems Over Gun Protests
President Joe Biden on Thursday condemned as “shocking” and “undemocratic” moves by Republicans in Tennessee to expel Democrats from the state Legislature for their roles in gun control protests. ... The president on Thursday repeated his pleas for Congress to re-implement an assault weapons ban. He also called for legislators to eliminate gun manufacturers’ immunity from liability and to implement universal background checks. “A strong majority of Americans want lawmakers to act on commonsense gun safety reforms that we know will save lives,” Biden said. “But instead, we’ve continued to see Republican officials across America double down on dangerous bills that make our schools, places of worship, and communities less safe. Our kids continue to pay the price.” (Ward, 4/6)

The New York Times: Tennessee House Expels 2 Democrats Over Gun Control Protest 
The Tennessee House voted on Thursday to expel two Democrats one week after they interrupted debate by leading protesters in a call for stricter gun laws in the wake of a shooting that left six dead at a Christian school. The extraordinary punitive action against the Democrats — Representatives Justin Jones and Justin J. Pearson — for an act of protest marks just the third time since the Civil War era that the Tennessee House has expelled a lawmaker from its ranks and threatens to further inflame the partisan rancor within a bitterly divided state. (Cochrane and Fawcett, 4/6)

Politico: Tennessee House Votes To Expel 2 Of 3 Dems, Both Black, Over Gun Protest 
Reps. Justin Jones and Justin Pearson were expelled in a vote largely along party lines, an effort to oust them led by the GOP supermajority. Rep. Gloria Johnson escaped removal from office because Republicans failed to gather the necessary two-thirds-majority support. When asked by reporters why Johnson was the only lawmaker to evade expulsion, she answered: “it might have to do with the color of our skin.” Their offense was joining protesters who gathered in Nashville last week to call for gun safety reform in the aftermath of a deadly school shooting that left seven dead, including the shooter. The members approached the lectern without being called on by House GOP leadership and toted a bullhorn to lead chants on the House floor, a stunt that temporarily suspended legislative business. House Speaker Cameron Sexton later likened their behavior to “an insurrection.” (Crampton, 4/6)

In related news about students protesting gun violence —

ABC News: Uvalde Students Walkout To Protest Gun Violence: 'I'm Scared Of Dying Every Day'
Students of the Uvalde Independent Consolidated School District staged a walkout on Wednesday to protest gun violence, acknowledging the 19 elementary school children and two teachers who were killed after the massacre at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, last May. Students said they took inspiration from students in Nashville, Tennessee, who conducted a massive walkout on Monday related to The Covenant School shooting, which left three children and three faculty members dead. (Holland, 4/5)

The Intercept: Tasked With Stopping Terror, Colorado's Intel Agency Monitors Students Protesting Gun Violence 
Students protesting gun violence in Colorado are on the radar of the state’s intelligence command center, which issued a bulletin yesterday notifying authorities of “a planned nationwide school walkout … in protest of gun violence,” according to a copy of the document obtained by The Intercept. Thousands of Colorado students were expected to protest inaction by state lawmakers by walking out of their classes Wednesday. “The Students Demand Action (SDA) has coordinated a nationwide school walkout amongst students throughout the country with similar trends to those seen in Colorado,” stated the situational awareness bulletin dated April 4, which was issued by the Colorado Information Analysis Center. CIAC’s mission is “preventing acts of terrorism, taking an all-crimes/all-threats approach,” according to the agency’s website. It’s not clear how the student walkouts relate to this mission. Experts have long criticized fusion centers like CIAC for operating with broad authorities and little oversight. (Klippenstein, 4/5)

More on the gun violence epidemic —

MPR News: How Reframing Mass Shootings As Suicide Could Help Prevent Them
As the nation grapples with another school shooting and media rushes to put it into context, there's a good chance you've heard a statistic compiled right here in Minnesota. The Violence Project in St. Paul is the nonprofit, nonpartisan research center behind what's believed to be the largest, most comprehensive database of mass shooters. And in 2021, its co-founders came out with a book called “How to Stop a Mass Shooting Epidemic.” (Crann and Burks, 4/6)

Colorado Sun: How Gun Violence In Colorado Hit A 40-Year High
In the spring of 2019, as the state mourned the shooting at STEM School Highlands Ranch and lawmakers began eyeing a raft of new firearms-related legislation, The Colorado Sun analyzed 38 years of state data on gun deaths. At the time, The Sun found that 20,669 people died from firearm-related injuries between 1980 and 2018, and the death rate, after dipping in the early 2000s, was on the rise. (Ingold, 4/6)

Axios: Gun Violence Settlements Prevail As Reform Stalls
Families of gun violence victims can't get the gun control they've been fighting for. But they are winning in court. Driving the news: Victims of the 2017 Sutherland Springs, Texas shooting settled with the Department of Justice for $144.5 million on Wednesday. That's the latest multimillion-dollar settlement awarded to families as mass shootings are an increasingly prevalent part of life in the U.S. (Habeshian, 4/6)