Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday traveled to Nashville, Tenn., to meet with, and attend a rally supporting, the “Tennessee Three” — a trio of Democratic lawmakers who faced expulsion from the state’s legislature over their protest following a deadly school shooting.

What You Need To Know

  • Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday traveled to Nashville, Tenn., to meet with the “Tennessee Three” — a trio of Democratic lawmakers who faced expulsion from the state’s legislature over their protest following a deadly school shooting.

  • The trip came one day after two of the lawmakers — Reps. Justin Jones, who represents Nashville, and Justin Pearson, who represents Memphis — were expelled from the GOP-controlled body as a direct result of their pro-gun control protest on the State Assembly floor

  •  A third Democrat who also participated in the protest, Gloria Johnson, who represents Nashville, survived the expulsion measure by one vote

  • Harris first met with the three lawmakers, as well as the rest of the state legislature's Democratic caucus and protesters who have led gun control demonstrations, at Fisk University, a historically Black college in Nashville, before taking to a rally in support of both the three lawmakers and gun control legislation

“We are here because they and their colleagues … they chose to show courage in the face of an extreme tragedy,” Harris said. “They chose to lead and show courage. To say that a democracy allows for places where the people’s voice will be heard and honored and respected.”

The trip came one day after two of the lawmakers — Reps. Justin Jones, who represents Nashville, and Justin Pearson, who represents Memphis — were expelled from the GOP-controlled body as a direct result of their pro-gun control protest on the State Assembly floor. A third Democrat who also participated in the protest, Gloria Johnson, who represents Nashville, survived the expulsion measure by one vote. Jones and Pearson are Black. Johnson is white.

Harris first met with the three lawmakers, as well as the rest of the state legislature's Democratic caucus and protesters who have led gun control demonstrations, at Fisk University, a historically Black college in Nashville, before taking to a rally in support of both the three lawmakers and gun control legislation.

There, she anchored a lineup of leaders from within the community and young activists from area schools and colleges. To a one, speakers testified in support of the three lawmakers, and Jones and Pearson in particular, with many promising to return the pair to the legislature.

“History is watching,” Vanderbilt sophomore and Students Demand Action volunteer Iman Omer said to lawmakers. “Young people are watching you. And we’re going to vote for legislators who protect us.”

Thie issue, Harris said, is that legislators must have “the courage to act … instead of cowardice to not allow debate and to not allow a discussion on the merits of what is at stake.” She added, seemingly directed toward Tennessee legislators, that “you can’t call yourself a leader if you don’t have the courage to know what is right and act on it, regardless of the popularity of the moment.”

Harris was part of the growing chorus of voices condemning Tennessee Republicans for voting to expel the lawmakers, calling their actions "undemocratic and dangerous."

"Six people, including three children, were killed last week in a school shooting in Nashville," Harris wrote on Twitter on Friday. "How did Republican lawmakers in Tennessee respond? By expelling their colleagues who stood with Tennesseans and said enough is enough."

In her remarks Friday afternoon, Harris suggested that reforming gun legislation can be made simple: set “red flag” laws in place, and restrict buying assault weapons, which she said have “no place on the streets of a civil society.”

“It’s to say you might want to know, before someone buys a gun, whether they’ve been found by a court to be a danger to themselves or others. You might want to know if someone has shown themselves to be violent before they can go and buy a gun,” she said. “Let’s not fall for the false choice, which suggests you’re either in favor of the Second Amendment, or you want reasonable gun safety laws. We can and should do both.”

In a statement Thursday evening, President Joe Biden called the expulsion of the lawmakers “shocking” and “undemocratic,” lamenting the fact that lawmakers chose to hold votes to expel the three Democrats rather than listen to the calls of hundreds of protesters who marched on the state’s capitol to call for gun safety reform.

“Today’s expulsion of lawmakers who engaged in peaceful protest is shocking, undemocratic, and without precedent,” Biden said. “Rather than debating the merits of the issue, these Republican lawmakers have chosen to punish, silence, and expel duly-elected representatives of the people of Tennessee.”

“A strong majority of Americans want lawmakers to act on commonsense gun safety reforms that we know will save lives,” he continued. “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.”