Biden will meet with the 'Tennessee Three' at the White House
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden will meet with the three Tennessee Democratic legislators who faced expulsion over gun control protests at the White House on Monday.
Biden’s press secretary said the president invited the “Tennessee three” — Democratic Reps. Justin Jones, Gloria Johnson and Justin J. Pearson — to “continue that conversation” over the lawmakers' calls for gun control.
“He saw these three legislators as taking that next step when calling for an assault weapons ban, which is incredibly important,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Wednesday. “Weapons of war should not be on the streets.”
She continued: “They had a conversation, he thanked them for speaking out and standing their ground and being very clear about what’s needed for them to protect their communities, and he invited them here to continue that conversation.”
The lawmakers were accused of “bringing disorder and dishonor” to the state Legislature for protesting gun violence on the chamber floor after a March 27 shooting at a Nashville school killed three children and three adults.
Republicans voted to remove Jones and Pearson, who are both Black, from the Legislature this month, while Johnson, who is white, survived her vote. Jones and Pearson were reinstated to the Legislature by local leaders.
Jean-Pierre said the visit was “another step” in Biden’s push to ban assault-style weapons.