WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Monday thanked three Tennessee lawmakers for “standing up” after they faced expulsion for participating in gun control protests at their statehouse.
“You’re standing up for our kids, you’re standing up for our communities,” Biden told Rep. Justin Pearson, Rep. Justin Jones and Rep. Gloria Johnson during an Oval Office meeting.
Flanked by Vice President Kamala Harris, Biden described the expulsion votes as “shocking” and “undemocratic.”
“Nothing is guaranteed about our democracy — every generation has to fight for it,” he said.
The episode has turned the lawmakers, known as the “Tennessee three,” into Democratic heroes. Harris already visited Nashville earlier this month to show her support.
The statehouse protest took place days after the shooting at the Covenant School, a private Christian school where three children and three adults were killed. The three lawmakers — Rep. Justin Pearson, Rep. Justin Jones and…
