A group of mothers from The Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee, reached across the aisle to show their support and appreciation for the Democratic representatives fighting for real common-sense gun safety legislation on Thursday. The moment was captured on video, provided by @TheTNHoller. It shows the women pinning a ribbon on Rep. Justin Jones’ lapel. Jones has been one of the most outspoken officials on gun violence.
It was a very moving moment as Melissa Alexander told Jones, “I want you to know, I know that I’m a Republican, but you guys stood up for us. I want you to hear it though.” She added that even though she is from across the aisle, “it’s not like we didn’t care for children before this—we just weren’t active. And now here we are together.” The two hugged, and Jones added, “This is about humanity, and we’re all connected.”
Sarah Shoop Neuman, another Covenant School mother, told Jones, “Once we get going we’re not stopping. So now we’re here with you.” A third Covenant School mother added, “And we are not leaving,” to which Jones replied, “You came back, so I know it.”
RELATED STORY: Tennessee moms fighting gun violence score legal victory
Alexander’s 9-year-old son lost three of his classmates on March 27 when a 28-year-old man walked into the Covenant School and opened fire, killing six people. Alexander and other mothers from the Christian-based school have been at the capitol this week to advocate for better gun legislation than the idiotic proposals the GOP has come up with, which include arming teachers.
Tennessee Republicans hold a supermajority stranglehold over the process and spent the first two days working on ways to silence grieving mothers and other gun safety voices. Unwavering in their resolve, firearm safety advocates continue to return to the state capitol after scoring a legal victory against the Tennessee Republican fascism.
In a video Jones posted on X, the website formerly known as Twitter, Tennessee Republican Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton laughed while mothers screamed at him to do something about children murdered by guns. In the video, Jones said, “Tennesseans deserve a House speaker who leads with compassion, not one who laughs at grieving mothers.”
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Everyone always talks about redistricting, but what is it like to actually do it? Oregon political consultant Kari Chisholm joins us on this week’s episode of “The Downballot” to discuss his experience as member of Portland’s new Independent District Commission, a panel of citizens tasked with creating the city’s first-ever map for its city council. Kari explains why Portland wanted to switch from at-large elections to a district-based system, how new multimember districts could boost diversity on the council, and the commission’s surprisingly effective efforts to divide the city into four equal districts while heeding community input.
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