Tennessee's Republican-dominated legislature <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/world/us-news/2023/04/07/tennessee-house-expulsion-justin-jones/" target="_blank">voted to expel</a> two black Democratic state representatives for their involvement in an anti-gun protest following <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/world/us-news/2023/03/29/nashville-school-shooting-video/" target="_blank">a primary school shooting</a>, but the conservative politicians may not have the last word. “A democracy says you don’t silence the people, you do not stifle the people, you do not turn off their microphones when they are speaking about the importance of life and liberty,” US Vice President Kamala Harris said in Nashville on Friday. While the body voted overwhelmingly to expel Justin Jones, 27, and Justin Pearson, 29, for their role in a protest last week demanding that their Republican colleagues take action on gun reform, they have not been banned from running again in 2024. A third Democrat, Representative Gloria Johnson, who is white, narrowly avoided being fired, as legislators voted 65 to 30 to expel her, failing by one vote to reach the two-thirds majority required. Ms Harris made a last-minute trip to Tennessee to meet Mr Jones, Ms Johnson and Mr Pearson privately, and lead a rally of supporters at Fisk University. “We are here because they chose to show courage in the face of an extreme tragedy,” she said of the three. In the case of Mr Jones, who represented a district in the state capital Nashville, the city’s Metro Council will be in charge of selecting his interim replacement. At least 23 of the 40 members who make up the Metro Council have said they plan on appointing Mr Jones back to his seat, local media reported. Mr Jones called his expulsion a “farce of democracy” and a “very dark day for Tennessee”. The White House announced on Friday that President Joe Biden had called the three legislators to thank them for their leadership and work. Mr Biden invited them to visit sometime in the “near future”, the White House said. The “expulsion of lawmakers who engaged in peaceful protest is shocking, undemocratic, and without precedent,” Mr Biden also said in a statement on Thursday evening. He added that Republicans were an obstacle to gun reform. “A strong majority of Americans want lawmakers to act on commonsense gun safety reforms that we know will save lives,” he 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.” The US Congressional Black Caucus criticised the state’s Republicans for their “racist” actions. “The expulsions of Rep Justin Jones and Rep Justin Pearson — two black duly elected members representing minority districts — makes clear that racism is alive and well in Tennessee,” caucus chairman Steven Horsford said. Mr Horsford added that by expelling the two legislators, Republicans were not only silencing “the black representatives” but “their constituents as well”. Former secretary of state Hillary Clinton expressed outrage over the move as well. “Following yet another school shooting, Tennessee Republicans have moved on from offering empty 'thoughts and prayers' in place of action,” she said on Twitter. “Now they've expelled two Democratic legislators who demanded safety for students and educators who just want to learn and teach in peace.”