; Whereas, as a result, over 136,000 Tennesseans in Memphis and Nashville have had their democratic right to representation stripped from them; Whereas this act of expelling Representative Jones and Representative Pearson silences Black American voices, further perpetuating the historical disenfranchisement of Black Americans; Whereas until the United States reckons with its blatant and perpetual racism, the country will continue to be divided, and democracy will continue to be threatened; Whereas elected officials in the United States must understand it is their duty to break the American cycle of systemic racism seeped within the country; Whereas it is the responsibility of all elected officials to make decisions for the benefit of all Americans; Whereas, as of March 2023, roughly 130 counted mass shootings have occurred in the United States in 2023; Whereas, in June 2021, Tennessee Republicans enacted a law to allow permitless carry of handguns, both concealed and unconcealed, for people 21 years or older; Whereas, in February 2023, Tennessee Republicans introduced a bill to expand permitless carry to include all firearms despite concerns from the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security; Whereas section 1 of the 15th Amendment to the Constitution states: The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. ; Whereas the continuation of democracy in the United States is an active process that requires the vigilance and action of those who are appointed and elected to preserve it; and Whereas the continuation of democracy in the United States requires accountability for those who seek to damage it: Now, therefore, be it