The Tennessee Three’s Gloria Johnson Vows To Fight For Gun Safety Laws After School Massacre

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Image Credit: Pool/ABACA/Shutterstock Republicans successful the Tennessee State Legislature blocked discussions astir weapon information laws from Democratic authorities representatives, adjacent aft the Covenant School Shooting successful Nashville. Reps. Gloria Johnson, Justin Jones, and Justin Pearson were subjected to expulsion from the Legislature for joining protesters successful speaking out. Jones and Pearson were ousted successful a vote, portion Johnson remained. Rep. Gloria Johnson has continued to propulsion for stricter weapon information laws against her Republican colleagues.

It’s simply unacceptable for Democratic Tennessee State Rep. Gloria Johnson that her Republican colleagues successful the State Legislature garbage to see passing immoderate weapon information laws aft six innocents were slaughtered astatine The Covenant School by an assailant equipped with an AR-15 and 2 different guns.

Rep. Gloria Johnson arrives astatine the White House alongside Reps. Justin Jones and Justin Pearson. (Pool/ABACA/Shutterstock)

A erstwhile Covenant School pupil nether attraction for an affectional upset was capable to legally acquisition the guns successful bid to ‘wreck havoc’ astatine the Christian Covenant School, according to Nashville Police Chief John Drake. 

But contempt the information that 3 nine-year-old students, the caput of the school, a substitute teacher, and a custodian were gunned down and that thousands of parents, students, and different Tennesseeans demonstrated for days wrong and extracurricular the Legislature, Republican lawmakers were truthful intransigent, they blocked adjacent attempts to sermon weapon violence connected the State House level repeatedly, successful the week aft the March 27, 2023 massacre.

Rep. Johnson tried aggregate times to speech to each her chap lawmakers arsenic did her Democratic colleagues, Representatives Justin Jones and Justin Pearson, but their mics were chopped off. 

“In a steadfast democracy, adjacent if you are successful a ace number (like the Democrats are successful the Tennessee Legislature), you would sermon and statement and they (the Republicans) would let the opposition’s treatment connected legislation,” Representative Gloria Johnson contends to HollywoodLife.com  in an exclusive interview. “They (The Republicans) are each astir silencing voices and silencing opposition, which is simply a scary thing, and it erodes democracy.”

It’s due to the fact that Johnson, Jones, and Pearson refused to beryllium silenced and took to the Tennessee House level with a bullhorn to request weapon reform, that they were taxable to expulsion from the authorities Legislature.

Johnson, a achromatic woman, survived a ballot to oust her by 1 ballot portion Pearson and Jones were expelled, and Johnson was frank astir wherefore she believes she wasn’t removed. “I americium a 60-year-old achromatic woman, and they are 2 young Black men,” she told the press.

Johnson, Jones, and Pearson conscionable with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. (Pool/ABACA/Shutterstock)

Fortunately, Representative Jones and Representative Pearson were rapidly reinstated by their districts and Johnson present tells HollywoodLife that they are each focused connected a semipermanent strategy to combat Tennessee’s existent laws which springiness precise entree to guns .

She was horrified by the massacre and has been inspired and galvanized by the thousands of students and parents who demonstrated and demanded weapon information laws, extracurricular and wrong the Tennessee Legislature successful the days aft the tragic shooting.

Students begged her for laws that volition protect them from equipped assailants. “They speech astir what it’s similar successful their schoolhouse day, knowing that nary 1 is consenting to support them. No 1 is consenting to amusement governmental courageousness to bash thing to bounds guns coming to the schoolhouse door,” she shares.

And who tin blasted students for being terrified that they excessively volition look a hail of deadly gunfire successful their schools oregon connected their assemblage campuses? In 2023, determination person already been a record-breaking 89 shootings astatine K-12 schools, and 75 students and adults were killed. By February 15, determination were besides a record-breaking 202 wide shootings successful the U.S. up until May 9, including immoderate connected assemblage campuses. Guns are present the starring origin of death for U.S. children and teenagers with astir 3,600 killed successful gun-related incidents successful 2021.

Tennessee parents besides filled the crowds demonstrating for weapon information laws extracurricular the Legislature aft the Covenant shooting and Johnson was moved by their fears. “I talked to a batch of moms who had conscionable dropped their kids disconnected astatine school, and they were teary-eyed erstwhile they said to maine it was truthful hard since they were wondering if their kids would beryllium determination successful the day erstwhile they went to prime them up. They realized that it was imaginable that they would not beryllium good by the extremity of the day,” she said.

The Tennessee Three clasp hands aft being expelled from the Legislature. ( Laura Thompson/Shutterstock)

It was due to the fact that of those students and those moms who told Johnson, Jones, and Pearson astir their fears and their request for kids to beryllium protected from weapon violence, that the Tennessee Three broke “decorum,” and went to what is called “The Well” of the Legislature and spoke retired aft Republicans had repeatedly unopen them down.

“We felt that they (parents and students) needed to beryllium recognized. We wanted to archer them that we saw them, that we heard them, that we cared astir their issues, and we were going to combat to walk common-sense weapon laws. That’s each we wanted to do, due to the fact that we were not being allowed to speak,” she tells HollywoodLife.com.

Johnson knows that the roadworthy up to getting immoderate of Tennessee’s lax weapon laws to beryllium adjacent a small spot much restrictive, volition beryllium precise tough, arsenic it is successful immoderate of the Republican-controlled “red” states. In information aft the Covenant School massacre and protests, the Tennessee went a Legislature went up and passed and Governor Bill Lee signed a measure to support weapon and ammunitions dealers, manufacturers and sellers against lawsuits.

The NRA, the Gun Owners Of America, and The National Association for Gun Rights each contribute heavy to Republican candidates, and the Tennessee Firearms Association slammed Governor Bill Lee erstwhile helium did effort aft the Covenant massacre ,to person the Legislature  besides walk a “protective order” prohibiting entree to weapons for radical deemed to beryllium a information to themselves and others. The Executive Director John Harris called it a “knee-jerk affectional response to murders.”

If Tennessee Governor Lee had an affectional effect to the murders of children that would beryllium quality and understandable, but arsenic well, Johnson explains that the governor’s woman is simply a erstwhile teacher, who was a person to 1 of the Covenant educators who was murdered. In fact, his woman was expected to person had meal with her connected the nighttime of the time that she was changeable to death.

Talk astir weapon unit hitting adjacent to location for the governor.

Johnson, who has served successful the Tennessee Legislature, for a full of 8 years, present representing Knox County, says that she, Rep. Jones, Rep. Pearson, Tennessee’s pupil organizers, and different Democrats volition enactment connected gathering momentum crossed the authorities successful the summertime and fall, for tougher weapon laws earlier the Legislature reconvenes adjacent January.

Johnson and Jones articulation protestors successful the Legislature. (Laura Thompson/Shutterstock)

What Johnson volition ne'er enactment is simply a Republican-proposed instrumentality successful Tennessee to limb teachers. A erstwhile teacher herself, who was teaching astatine Knoxville’s Central High School successful April 2008, erstwhile a 15-year-old was murdered with a semi-automatic pistol by a classmate, she intelligibly recalls the panic of students that time and the trauma that followed.

“I saw hundreds of kids moving retired of the main gathering and down the elevation towards my classroom. They were screaming and crying… I’ll ne'er hide that day… You ne'er hide astir the students that are lost, proceeding those sirens, and seeing the panic connected the children’s faces,” she told Newsweek. 

Neither a schoolhouse information serviceman nor a schoolhouse assets serviceman was capable to halt the shooting, which vocalist Kelsea Ballerini, a pupil astatine the school, witnessed firsthand. “I watched Ryan McDonald, my 15-year-old classmate astatine Central High School, suffer his beingness to a weapon successful our cafeteria,” she told the assemblage of the 2023 CMT Awards, which she co-hosted. She pleaded for “real action” aft the Covenant School Shooting.

Johnson present calls a Tennessee Republican connection to limb teachers “a ridiculous idea.” “It’s ludicrous to deliberation that that’s a solution. If you thatch successful precocious school, and you person a weapon that tin beryllium truly dangerous, and if you’re a teacher with a gun, bash you besides get paid for being a information officer? Teachers are already doing 4 jobs.” And she points retired that constabulary officers person little than 30% accuracy erstwhile they are returning fire. “How overmuch accuracy is simply a teacher going to person ?”

Johnson and her colleagues volition beryllium moving to physique enactment from voters of each governmental leanings successful the adjacent months for tightened laws that volition “keep guns from getting to the schoolhouse house,” not “having weapon battles successful the classroom.”

Johnson is optimistic that Tennesseans volition enactment sensible weapon information laws and that the authorities is not arsenic blimpish arsenic its utmost gerrymandering makes it appear. “Our authorities typically votes 40% to 45% Democratic,” she contends.

She’s besides definite that the state’s women volition beryllium furious astir the near-total termination ban that the Tennessee supermajority of Republicans passed, which the authorities is present enforcing with precise constricted exceptions to prevention the beingness of the mother. Abortion is banned from the clip of conception.

She is convinced that astir women successful the authorities aren’t alert of the implicit strictness of the law. “My parent is simply a Republican, and erstwhile I told my parent astir it, she said, ‘Gloria, that can’t beryllium true.’ I’m like, ‘Mom, yes it’s true. They passed this bill.’ And, she said, ‘Well, they’re going to person to alteration it.’ And I said, ‘Mom, they person nary volition of changing it.'”

She asserts that the authorities is already feeling the antagonistic interaction connected women’s wellness with large women having to beryllium sent six hours northbound to North Carolina successful ambulances to person necessary miscarriage and termination care. That concern won’t beryllium an enactment present that the Republican supermajority successful North Carolina overrode Democratic Governor Roy Cooper’s veto of a caller 10 and 12-week termination prohibition successful that state. “We’re besides successful a concern present wherever we can’t enlistee OBGYNs to travel present to bash their residencies, due to the fact that they can’t get the grooming they request to get their aesculapian certifications. And, we besides person OBGYNs that privation to permission the authorities and we already person a shortage successful our agrarian areas,” Johnson points out. “This is conscionable fundamentally ignorant erstwhile it comes to keeping women successful this authorities harmless erstwhile they privation to person children.”

She points to a well-known OBGYN, Dr Leilah Zahedi – Spung successful Tennessee, who was a specializer successful high-risk pregnancies, who decided to determination retired of the state to Colorado.  “She’s like, ‘I volition beryllium astatine truthful overmuch hazard present due to the fact that I volition person much terminations than different doctors,’ and she was acrophobic that she would beryllium targeted for that.”

Zahedi-Spung told the property that she had to desperately nonstop a large Tennessee pistillate with dangerously high humor unit by ambulance to North Carolina respective 100 miles distant to get a lifesaving termination and by the clip the pistillate arrived, she was showing signs of kidney failure. “She kept asking if she was going to die,” Zahedi-Spung told the Wall St Journal. The obstetrician was highly relieved that the diligent survived.

Tennessee was besides infamously the first authorities to walk an “anti-drag bill,” which prohibits antheral oregon pistillate impersonators from performing anyplace a insignificant mightiness beryllium present. The instrumentality has been blocked temporarily by U.S. District Judge Thomas Parker, who called the instrumentality vague and overly broad, positive helium wrote that the authorities failed to contiguous a compelling statement arsenic to wherefore Tennessee adjacent needed the law.

As Johnson explains, Republicans “kept saying that radical were doing obscene things successful beforehand of children, which is not happening. No, and we already person obscenity laws connected the books that accidental you can’t beryllium obscene successful beforehand of children, nary substance what you’re wearing… But resistance is not obscene 99% of the clip and surely not successful beforehand of children. And nobody’s forced to ticker it.”

The Republican civilization wars successful Tennessee, including overriding parental rights and banning gender-affirming attraction for adolescents, on with the state’s anti-trans law, are a immense root of vexation for Johnson, who insists that she wants to absorption connected making beingness amended for her constituents and each Tennesseeans.

Johnson speaks to reporters aft her expulsion hearing. (Laura Thompson/Shutterstock)

The Republicans successful the authorities Legislature “didn’t bash thing this twelvemonth to amended the lives of Tennessee families,” she asserts to HollywoodLife.com. “Nothing, and you cognize past twelvemonth erstwhile I was moving for office, we knocked connected thousands of doors. We made thousands of telephone calls to voters. And ne'er erstwhile did a elector archer maine that they wanted to spot laws against resistance queens oregon laws taking distant transgender attraction oregon that they wanted to spot adjacent much guns. No 1 said that. They said they wanted to spot Medicaid expansion, they wanted to spot paid household leave, and they wanted sensible weapon legislation. None of the things that radical are asking for, did they ( the Republican supermajority successful the State Legislature) address” this year. “It’s remarkable.”

Nonetheless, Representative Johnson on with the different “Tennessee Three” members, Rep. Jones and Rep. Pearson, volition support warring for what would beryllium genuinely singular and life-saving for Tennessee families – gathering capable enactment for weapon information laws that the State Legislature volition person to “do something.”

“I’m from a reddish district, but successful my district, a bulk of Republicans, Independents, and Democrats enactment reddish emblem laws, inheritance checks, and harmless retention laws… If we tin get 26 retired of the 75 Republicans to get connected committee with thing that really has immoderate teeth successful it, we tin get thing passed that volition enactment a dent successful weapon violence.”

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