Downtown Meridian Mississippi as viewed from City Hall (courtesy wikpedia.org)

Make no mistake: the desire to disarm American citizens “for their own good” knows no geographical boundaries. To wit: “In response to the [Mississippi’s] new open-carry gun law, which is being challenged in the court system, the Meridian City Council unanimously passed a weapons ban on Tuesday,” meridianstar.com reports. “The ordinance prohibits openly carried weapons in City Hall, the Meridian Law Enforcement Center, all fire stations, all municipal offices, city parks, and playgrounds. It makes exceptions for public roads, streets and sidewalks.” Police Chief James Lee: “We need to be able to protect the people of this city and in doing so, we need to rely on our city council for wise judgment and leadership in the right direction.” Funny stuff from a City whose motto is “A better longitude on life.” Meanwhile, in Ridgeland . . .

No peace, no justice.

And, no guns wanted from a factory planning to manufacture assault weapons in Ridgeland.

That was the message shouted by more than 20 people who marched at midday today in downtown Jackson. Led by Hinds County District 5 Supervisor Kenny Stokes, they purposely walked up and down the sidewalk in front of the Governor’s Mansion, then the state Capitol, to make their views heard loud and clear.

More than 20 people marching on the capitol? Where’s the SWAT team? Regardless, this little demo couldn’t have pleased TALON Ordnance—or the politicians who arranged the tax incentives enabling the fledgling manufacturer to begin assembling modern sporting rifles. But it was a great cropped photo op for the anti-gun guys who never met a bloody shirt they didn’t want to wave.

Making a special trip to appear at the rally was the Rev. Charles Williams II, national organizer for the National Action Network. A number of network volunteers also attended, wearing their organization’s Detroit chapter T-shirt.

“We’re here because we believe no violence is good violence. We want to support those advocating against gun manufacturing,” Williams said. “We need guns out, jobs in.

“Why is it that we need war weapons in our local community?” he asked. “We’re calling on the governor to prevent this.”

Wait. They don’t want people to make guns? At all. Ever? I thought anti-gunners supported the Second Amendment but not for criminals, terrorists, mentally ill people, dentists, lawyers, Mexican gardeners, etc. But no guns at all? Who knew?

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56 COMMENTS

  3. “We want to support those advocating against gun manufacturing,” Williams said. “We need guns out, jobs in.”

    I don’t see Apple clamoring to set up an iPhone factory in your sleepy little ‘burg. So if you want jobs, here’s somebody offering them.

    Oh.

    Wait.

    You’re not from around here? Then get the fvck back your your Godforsaken bankrupt Democrat utopia!

    • First local office of DHS. Figures. Sleepy southern burg gone Yankeefied. Get your stupid town out of Mississippi, PRONTO.

  4. A whole 20 protesters…. that’s gonna turn heads and influence the decision making process….

      • I have a dream. A dream where everyone who wants to come to this country will have the common decency to obey the law. A dream that anybody without such decency will get a swift boot to the backside on their way back across the border to whatever hellhole they came from.

  5. I thought anti-gunners supported the Second Amendment but not for criminals, terrorists, mentally ill people, dentists, lawyers, Mexican gardeners, etc. But no guns at all? Who knew?

    Hey man….. whatchyou got aginst Mexican dentists who like to garden??? 😉

    • It’s pretty racist to lump them together with mentally ill, criminals, terrorists, and lawyers.

      • He’s not lumping them because they’re Mexican, he’s lumping them because they’re (assumed to be) illegal aliens.

  7. Dear Dum@&& Mississppi Lawmakers,

    I live and open carry within walking distance of your state line. My boots are not soaked in blood.

    Sincerley,
    Time for arrogant politians to wake up

      • Im speaking about Tennessee as a whole. Im well aware of what goes on in Memphis, I work on an ambulance here. And Im not complaining about Mississippi, Im complaining about the lack of any logic in pea brained politicians.

        By the way, Ill say your right if you can show me where the crime rate in Memphis has anything to do with OC’ing being legal. Which, in case you missed my original point, that WAS my point.

        On a side note is it me or are people here on TTAG starting to get nasty atitudes!?

        • I’ve decided it comes in waves. We’re on an upswing.

          I think it partially has to do with some occurrence or particular post bringing in a host of new people, who don’t know who’s who or what’s what. That results in things like that comment to you, and like Dyspeptic Gunsmith being called a cop-apologist for one of his typically snarky posts, and like me being called a schmuck.

        • True Matt. It can be tough to understand a persons intent in what they say online. Ill give people that much credit. Im guilty of it myself. Hell, I get all butt hurt just looking at (non-existant) ammo in my safe and store shelves.

  8. Why aren’t these same hypocryptes protesting about the manufacturing of illegal drugs or better yet the release of convicts back onto the streets? What up with that?

  9. Mississippi needs to follow Florida and pass preemption of all local firearms laws ASAP. Even here in Illinois we now have preemption of all local firearms laws in regards to CC and handguns.

    • It’s amazing how much more gun friendly Illinois has become with a single bill. Sure the FOID program is still stupid, but we have far better access to our rights than the remainder of the democratic hellholes in this country.

    • Mississippi HAS a preemption law, which many cities and counties are falling all over themselves to violate.

  10. I’d like manufacturers to become a bit more proactive, even
    confrontational, about the jobs issue. It’d help if they had
    enough capital to physically show people how much they
    could be making. Same goes for these town and city
    governments. Show up at a public meeting with a giant stack
    of cash and simply say, “this is the tax money you WON’T
    be getting if we go elsewhere”.

    • WHY? There’s plenty of gun-friendly states remaining. For now. What do they need Meridian, MS for?

    • Racial profiteers make money when the black community has none. When the black community prospers, the profiteers go broke.

  11. “Why is it that we need war weapons in our local community?”

    Why is it you won’t shut up?

    • “Weapons of war.” REALLY? They don’t complain about the two military bases there, now DO they? Freakin’ idiot hypocrites! If you’re against weapons of war, go demonstrate outside the two air bases there…. they don’t mind THOSE 2600 jobs.

    • Why do they always feel the need to attack our ‘need’ for a particular gun? That shouldn’t enter the conversation in the first place. I bought it because I wanted one. Period.

  12. “Williams said. ‘We need guns out, jobs in.
    ‘Why is it that we need war weapons in our local community?’ he asked.”

    OUR community? He and his friends are from Detroit, for crying out loud. Maybe they’re upset that TALON didn’t set up shop there.

  14. I’ve been in Meridian twice — once in the 60s when everyone was insane and once in the 80s when everyone was kinda mellow. The Kress store shown in the picture closed in the early 80s IIRC. Otherwise, nothing much had changed in 20 years, not even the Rexall store on the corner and Weidmann’s restaurant, which had a bar as long as a 747 landing strip and the best oyster stew in the south.

    Now, the Rexall is gone, oyster stew isn’t on Weidmann’s menu and the people have gone insane again.

  15. These gun grabbers really are ignorant. If they knew Jack about firearms, they would know that the factory can only sell to licensed dealers.

    its not like if a gun factory sets up in town, they’ll just be handing them out to whoever walks by.

    • That would be fun though. Knock on the door and have them hand you an AR. Go trick-or-treating and have them hand you a new upper.

      • Hey, if you’re rich and bored enough. Since it isn’t legally a gun you wouldn’t have to worry about prohibited persons. I mean, you might catch me turning up four or five times in different costumes, but that’s about it.

    • You’re onto something here. Apparently in NY and CT they get it. “Please MAKE all the guns you want here, just don’t SELL any here.”

      Sometimes I’m forced to wonder if there aren’t just bored people sitting around brainstorming something to protest.

  16. I live in Ridgeland – a small city just north of Jackson. Ridgeland is friendly to business with low crime and taxes – while Jackson pursues the opposite course. This group of less than two dozen marched around the governor’s mansion protesting – while the mansion is empty being renovated – with the goveror staying elsewhere. They marched for the tv cameras – which had to have tight views to make it look like a crowd. They were lead by a Jackson – not Ridgeland – politician named Kenneth Stokes. He is always amusing to watch – but not taken seriously. Talon’s comments where brief – they supported illegal gun activity no more than the nearby Nissan plant supported DUIs. The open carry law is being challenged at the bidding of the Jackson city government – the court system will sort it out in time.

  19. Article 3 Section 12 of our state constitution reads as follows: “[t]he right of every citizen to keep and bear arms in defense of his home, person, or property, or in aid of the civil power when thereto legally summoned, shall not be called in question, but the legislature may regulate or forbid carrying concealed weapons.” Following state statute restricts carrying “concealed in whole or in part”, which is a gotcha to prevent open carry, as a gun on a lanyard around your neck could be considered “partially” concealed.

    As has been reported here before, a recent law was passed that eliminates the gotcha and therefore allows open carry. Then an illiterate judge in Hinds County deemed it “vague” and thereby held up implementation state-wide while the AG is trying along with virtually the rest of the state to get the State Supreme Court to overturn the injunction.

    Now, I work in Meridian. Since HB2 was passed, it seems that every business (including my workplace) has put up “firearms prohibited” signs. The sheriff has locked down the courthouse, and, as mentioned in the blogpost, the MPD has been tasked with imposing a clampdown of its own. And, as the town is now under a very newly elected Democratic regime, I don’t see this changing anytime soon, either. However, this new administration was voted in place in large part due to the previous admin’s failure to effectively address the rising crime wave taking place in the town.

    I’ve already been faced with making a decision on this: while walking downtown one night to attend a concert, I noticed a sign at the concert hall stating that no guns were allowed per the MPD. Not willing to disarm myself on the street downtown near midnight on a weekend, I just walked in anyway. It’s not only unlawful to require this in the face of settled state law, it’s also unreasonable for me to surrender viable self-protection to suit some do-gooders without a clue. I will not disarm myself for the duration of my stay in an increasingly crime-ridden city.

    They can only prohibit open carry, however, as concealed carry permit holders are legally permitted by state law many venues wherein they may carry. Those of us with enhanced concealed carry permits (whereas the standard permit only requires a fee and fingerprinting, enhanced CCP is granted to those who’ve completed an approved basic firearms handling and law course) are allowed even more freedom to carry concealed…including locations such as schools, churches, courthouses short of active courtrooms. It’s only a matter of time before someone tests the legality of courthouse metal detectors under the three year-old enhanced CCP law.

    Basically, what it boils down to is this: certain people don’t trust the law-abiding, decent people of Mississippi to live up to the responsibility of openly carrying a firearm and would prefer to leave them to the mercies of the riff-raff who are best-served by politicians throwing unnecessary obstacles to civilian self-armament.

  20. A local judge allowed an injunction. It will be sorted out. The law was only a clarification of existing laws (never did like the sound of that) because we had a lot of confusion in the LEO agencies about open carry.

    The courts will straighten this out. And yes, there are some city governments that will try to work around it and will get slapped down.

  21. I would LOVE for them to open a MSR plant in my town. I’d be the first in line to put in an application.

  22. Sickens me how the true colors of many Mississippians are starting to show. After being stationed in Cali and happily moving back to South mississippi, I have seen many local businesses with no guns allowed signs on their front door. And the local police departments happily handing them out. Matter of fact just today while looking at a xdm at a local shop, I overheard the clerk that was helping me out tell another gentleman that he hopes they block the open carry laws. He doesn’t want “cowboys” shooting it out in the streets and him getting hit with a stray round. That and his total ignorance on ms firearm laws pushed me to leave and continue my search elsewhere.

  23. The USG and US military need to be disarmed for their own good and America’s own good and come to think of it the entire world’s own good.

  24. Used to be a Deputy Sheriff here in Mississippi,first off the Meridian city council cannot pass a ordinance like this without the state House and Senate passing it,which I doubt it will happen due to State law supersedes local law,these council persons are aligned with the Socialists,(Democrats),that took this to the judge in Hinds County.As for the Rigdeland Councilman,I heard him on the news the other night,couldn’t even hardly understand him when he spoke,another Socialist,(Democrat),well if he doesn’t want the jobs there we would gladly welcome them in Jones County,we have great industrial parks,great technology centers,some of the big name manufacturers ,great tax breaks,trained workforce,and love guns!Come on down here we would be glad to have you as neighbors.Be prepared and ready.Keep your powder dry.

  25. The article says the town passed a ban “The ordinance prohibits openly carried weapons”. If this has no impact on concealed carry, who cares?

  26. Wait… these people say “no violence is good violence” yet they are calling on the government to violently enforce legislation against peaceful manufacturers? Can you say “cognitive dissonance.”

  28. The ordinance maps out the reasoning behind the ban stating in many of these locations, emotions can run high which could lead to escalated incidents.

    “Business is often transacted where unpopular decisions are made and emotions tend to be charged,” the ordinance states. “The possession of weapons on such municipal properties is in direct contradiction to the sensitive nature of these areas and invites an escalation of conflict.”

    — Typical. Gun owners are just one heated argument away from going Postal. That what they are saying there. The serfs are not to be trusted when we confront them with our bullshit laws and blinding bureaucracy.

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