WASHINGTON, April 8 (TNSgov) -- The African American Mayors Association issued the following news: The African American Mayors Association (AAMA) strongly condemns the unprecedented assault on the democratic order by the Tennessee House of Representatives with the expulsion of two Black state legislators, Justin Jones and Justin Pearson, for their calls to address gun violence in the wake of the mass shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville. This undemocratic and racially-motivated action   more

WASHINGTON, April 7 (TNStalk) -- The American Constitution Society issued the following statement on April 6, 2023: * * * The GOP-controlled Tennessee House of Representatives voted to expel Representatives Justin Jones and Justin Pearson for a breach of decorum after they protested in support of gun violence prevention reforms on the floor of the Tennessee House. American Constitution Society (ACS) President Russ Feingold released the following statement in response to the expulsions: "ACS i  more

JEFFERSON CITY, Missouri, April 6 (TNSper) -- The Missouri Farm Bureau issued the following news release: Missouri Farm Bureau (MOFB) has announced the hiring of Janet Adkison as director of Public Affairs for the organization. A native of Houston, Missouri, Adkison comes to MOFB after reporting for the national rural network RFD-TV based in Nashville, Tennessee. She started with the network in 2013. Beginning in 2014, Adkison served as the network's Washington, D.C., news bureau chief coverin  more

WASHINGTON, April 7 (TNSgov) -- The American Land Title Association issued the following news release: The American Land Title Association (ALTA), the national trade association of the land title insurance industry, alongside AARP, the Tennessee Land Title Association (TNLTA) and AARP Tennessee applaud the Tennessee legislature for passing Senate Bill 368, the Real Property Records Integrity Act, which will protect homeowners from the predatory practice of filing of unfair real estate fee agree  more

WASHINGTON, April 8 -- The Armenian Assembly of America issued the following news: With Artsakh and Armenia in focus, activists from coast to coast came together in the nation's capital as part of the Armenian Assembly's successful 2023 Advocacy Summit, reported the Armenian Assembly of America (Assembly). Advocates from California, Georgia, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Florida, Texas, Tennessee, Ohio, Virginia, and Maryland gathered at t  more

WASHINGTON, April 8 (TNStalk) -- The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence issued the following statement on April 7, 2023: * * * On Thursday, the Tennessee House of Representatives, along party lines, voted to expel two Black state representatives, Justin Jones and Justin J. Pearson, after they participated in a gun violence prevention protest at the state capitol in Nashville and demanded action following last week's school shooting. A white lawmaker, Gloria Johnson, who was also at the pro  more

WASHINGTON, April 8 (TNSgov) -- The Council on American-Islamic Relations issued the following news release on April 7, 2023: The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today condemned the expulsion of two Black Tennessee state lawmakers as an "unjustified and racially-charged" act that would only serve to embolden activists in that state. Republican lawmakers in Tennessee are being accused of racism after they voted t  more

WASHINGTON, April 7 (TNSgov) -- The Center for Biological Diversity issued the following news release on April 6, 2023: In a legal victory for the Center for Biological Diversity, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agreed today to again consider granting Endangered Species Act protections for the Barrens darter. Named for its home on the Barrens Plateau of central Tennessee, the darter is one of the rarest fish in North America. In 2019 the agency wrongly denied the Barrens darter protection d  more

NEW YORK, April 8 -- Citizen Action of New York issued the following news release on April 7, 2023: In response to news of the expulsion of two Black legislators from the Tennessee statehouse, Karen Wharton, Democracy Coalition Coordinator for Citizen Action of New York, had the following to say: "Yesterday we watched in abject horror at the senseless expulsion of duly elected members of the Tennessee State Legislature for speaking out against assault rifles. The expulsion once again demonstra  more

WASHINGTON, April 5 (TNSgov) -- Families Against Mandatory Minimums issued the following news release: FAMM's Tennessee State Director Matthew Charles released the following statement following a vote in the Tennessee House Criminal Justice Committee to approve a bill that will create a "three strikes" law in Tennessee. "Tennessee already has a three strikes law, and it isn't stopping or reducing crime," Charles said. "Passing a new three strikes law that is even worse isn't going to improve p  more

NEW YORK, April 8 (TNStalk) -- The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund issued the following statement on April 7, 2023: * * * The Tennessee House voted on a resolution to expel three members of the House for their involvement in a demonstration for gun control policies, following the recent killings of three children and three adults in a mass shooting at a school in Nashville, Tennessee. Two of the members, Representatives Justin Pearson and Justin Jones, both of whom are Black, were exp  more

NASHVILLE, Tennessee, April 8 (TNStalk) -- The League of Women Voters of Tennessee issued the following statement on April 7, 2023: * * * The League of Women of Voters of Tennessee issued the following statement after the Tennessee State Legislature voted to expel two general assembly members: "Today is a sad day for democracy in the state of Tennessee. Two Black representatives, who were duly elected to represent the people of Nashville and Memphis, were expelled from their seats for peacefu  more

WASHINGTON, April 8 (TNSgov) -- The National Urban League issued the following news release: National Urban League President and CEO Marc H. Morial, Knoxville Area Urban League President and CEO Charles Lomax, Ph.D, Memphis Urban League President and CEO Tonja Fifer, Urban League of Middle Tennessee President and CEO Clifton Harris, and Urban League of Greater Chattanooga President and CEO Candy Johnson, condemned the expulsion of Tennessee Representatives Justin Jones and Justin Pearson, two B  more

WASHINGTON, April 8 (TNStalk) -- The National Organization for Women issued the following statement on April 7, 2023, by National President Christian F. Nunes: * * * The expulsion of two of Tennessee's youngest Black representatives from the Tennessee House for advocating for gun reform was blatantly racist, anti-Democratic, and corrupt. It is incomprehensible that just 10 days after three children and three adults were shot to death at the Covenant School, these radical lawmakers responded   more

NEW YORK, April 7 (TNSgov) -- PEN America issued the following news release on April 6, 2023: As the Tennessee legislature considers a resolution to expel members who joined a protest at the state Capitol last week over a school shooting, PEN America condemned this punishment as "far too grave," saying the right to protest is paramount. Last Thursday, in the wake of a shooting at an elementary school in Nashville that claimed the lives of children, teachers, and school employees, peaceful prot  more

WASHINGTON, April 8 (TNStalk) -- Public Citizen issued the following statement on April 7, 2023: * * * The Tennessee House of Representatives on Thursday voted to expel Representatives Justin Jones and Justin J. Pearson, both Democrats, from the body. * * * In response to the expulsion, Robert Weissman, president of Public Citizen, issued the following statement: "Yesterday, Republicans in the Tennessee House of Representatives expelled two of their Democratic colleagues, summarily ending   more