Mother Jones illustration/ Photo courtesy of Sam Van Pykeren
There’s nothing like being told to shut up to ignite some political fire in the belly.
In April 2023, three opposition lawmakers were thrust into the national spotlight after the Republican-led Tennessee House of Representatives moved to strip them of office for staging gun reform protests. State Rep. Gloria Johnson was one of them, and along with State Reps. Justin Jones and Justin Pearson, she joined students and families in the aftermath of Nashville’s Covenant School shooting to call for change, loudly and defiantly, in the state capitol. “Eighty percent of Tennesseans want something done about guns,” Johnson told me. “They want some gun-sense legislation.”
“No other country lives like this.”
The first time I met Johnson was on the eve of that unprecedented vote. She remained in office; the other two did not, but they were swiftly reappointed to their seats until a special election, at which they were reelected. Their trailblazing stand left them with a large following and a media-friendly nickname: The Tennessee Three.
Since then, Johnson has launched a campaign for the US Senate to unseat Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn, a close ally of Donald Trump, in November. “Tennessee deserves someone working for them,” she said. “Somebody who cares about everybody having access to affordable healthcare.”
The profile the three gained last year has given them the opportunity to bring their message to perhaps the biggest stage of their political careers so far: The Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Georgia Rep. Lucy McBath will join several other members of Congress and former Arizona Rep. and activist Gabrielle Giffords for a conversation centered on the devastating impacts of gun violence. “We don’t have to live like this,” Johnson told me. “No other country lives like this.”
