Lawmakers were just expelled in Arizona and Tennessee. Are guardrails on behavior fair?

Two Democratic representatives in Tennessee were expelled this
month over their involvement in gun control protests in the House
of Representatives chamber after a deadly school shooting in
Nashville. Another was allowed to remain by a one-vote margin. Rep.
Justin Jones, D-Nashville, and Rep. Justin Pearson, D-Memphis,
accused the GOP-led House in Tennessee of racism and oppression
after their expulsion. House Republicans said it was the
representatives' leadership during the protests that took place on
the House floor that led to their removal, not race. A few days
later, local officials voted Jones and Pearson back in. A
representative in Arizona also was expelled, but in a vastly
different situation.  Rep. Liz Harris, R-Chandler, was
expelled from the House of Representatives for disorderly
behavior after allowing her guest on an election review panel to
falsely accuse lawmakers and other officials of taking bribes from
a drug cartel. Expulsion is the strictest form of discipline a
member of a legislature can face, and it hadn’t happened in Arizona
since 2018. Harris was one of three people whose names were
submitted to the county Board of Supervisors, the body that
will appoint a replacement. And the two lawmakers from Tennessee
swiftly rejoined their colleagues. It all begs the question: Is
there a better way to put guardrails on ethical behavior by elected
officials? This week on The Gaggle, a podcast by The Arizona
Republic and azcentral.com, host Mary Jo Pitzl is
joined by two guests to sort through the happenings and differences
in the two cases. Arizona Republic state politics reporter Ray
Stern discusses the Rep. Liz Harris case. Later,
ethics scholar Dr. John Pelissero analyzes the
similarities and differences between what happened with the
representatives in Tennessee and what happened in Arizona. Learn
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