Tennessee's Republican lawmakers have a supermajority in the legislature, making it relatively easy to expel elected Democrats from office. So far, the tactic has been used twice — to remove state Representatives Justin Pearson of Memphis and Justin Jones of Nashville after their protest on the House floor regarding gun laws.
But State Senator Brent Taylor of East Memphis seeks to use this power again, this time with Shelby County's Democratic District Attorney General Steve Mulroy.
Memphis suffers from high gun violence, created in part by Republican laws that have made illegal firearms easy to obtain. Taylor believes Mulroy's administration is not doing enough to prosecute people caught with stolen guns.
To make his case against Mulroy, Taylor created a hotline for people to leave their criticisms about Mulroy. Sanford says this move by one politician to personally undertake the removal of another politician is "unprecedented."
Also this week, the Memphis City Council voted for a tax increase. Sanford says residents will be tolerant, but will need to see some results come of it.
