Reinstated Democratic Tennessee state Rep. Justin Jones carried a child-sized casket into the Tennessee State Capitol on Tuesday in solidarity with gun control protestors.
Capitol security barred Jones from carrying the child-sized casket into the House chambers as part of a “Moral Monday” demonstration organized by activist Bishop William J. Barber II. The gesture was intended as a protest against House Bill 1202, which would allow school faculty and staff to obtain enhanced handgun permits to carry concealed weapons on school premises. (RELATED: Tennessee House Votes To Boot Two Dem Members Who Joined With Mob In Capitol Protest)
“The legislators are back, but returning duly elected lawmakers to their seat does not solve the problem,” Barber said, according to ABC News.
Jones and fellow Democratic state Rep. Justin Pearson gained national attention after they were expelled from the Tennessee House of Representatives on April 6 for participating in gun control protests in the Capitol building. Jones and Pearson were then reappointed by their local governments a week later.
NEW: Tennessee Rep. Justin Jones carries a baby casket around the Tennessee state Capitol.
American politics is nothing more than professional acting.
Jones sees a unique opportunity to use dead children as a prop to further his popularity and political career so he is making… pic.twitter.com/eJcNXHa2u3
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) April 18, 2023
The protests that prompted Republican state lawmakers to expel Jones and Pearson came in response to a mass school shooting in Nashville, which claimed the lives of three adults and three children on March 27. On Tuesday, protesters carried six caskets to the state capitol to represent the slain victims. Gun-control advocacy groups Moms Demand Action and Tennessee Students Demand Action were also reportedly in attendance.
While speaking in the chambers, Jones claimed that he and the protesters were locked out and that the prop caskets were meant to send a message about the importance of gun control policy.
“I hope, Mr. Speaker, that that casket that’s sitting outside of there will send a clear message about what is happening in this body. We are perpetuating policies of death,” Jones said.