The strange tale of Memphis city officials attempting to get three anti-gun questions on the November ballot despite the proposals violating Tennessee’s firearms pre-emption law has taken a new twist.
As we reported in late July, Memphis city leaders approved several anti-gun measures to appear on the ballot on election day in an attempt to amend the city charter, despite Republican state lawmakers threatening to withhold millions of dollars of state funding if they proceeded with the scheme. Then, in August the state election commission announced it would not place the questions on the ballot because the Secretary of State’s office had warned that they violated several state laws, making them ineligible.
In the latest strange twist, a judge ruled on September 11 that the gun-control questions can appear on the November ballot because they are just proposals and have not yet amended the city’s charter.
Question Number 1 is an end run around the state’s recently passed constitutional carry law. That measure asks voters whether or not the City of Memphis charter should be amended so that no person can legally carry, store or travel with a handgun in the city without a valid carry permit—the exact thing state law allows.
It would further amend the charter to read: “It shall be unlawful for a person to store a firearm, whether loaded or unloaded, or firearm ammunition, in a motor vehicle or boat while the person is not in the motor vehicle of boat unless the firearm or firearm ammunition is kept from ordinary observation and locked in the trunk, utility or glove box, or a locked container securely affixed to the motor vehicle or boat.” Of course, the language does not define “ordinary observation.”
Question Number 2 deals with so-called “assault weapons.” It specifically asks if the city charter should be amended to ban common semi-auto firearms, and whether the charter should outlaw the sale of such firearms.
“The citizens of Memphis hereby find and declare that the proliferation and use of assault weapons pose a threat to the health, safety, and security of all citizens of Memphis,” the question states.
The final measure—Question Number 3—would set up a process for a city red-flag law. Of course, like most such proposals it likely wouldn’t protect the due process rights of gun owners who might suddenly find their Second Amendment rights restricted.
It’s hard to understand what Memphis leaders are thinking as it is clear the proposed questions run afoul of the state’s firearms preemption law. That law states: “The general assembly preempts the whole field of the regulation of firearms, ammunition, or components of firearms or ammunition, or combinations thereof including, but not limited to, the use, purchase, transfer, taxation, manufacture, ownership, possession, carrying, sale, acquisition, gift, devise, licensing, registration, storage, and transportation thereof, to the exclusion of all county, city, town, municipality, or metropolitan government law, ordinances, resolutions, enactments or regulation.”
The law further states: “No county, city, town, municipality, or metropolitan government nor any local agency, department, or official shall occupy any part of the field regulation of firearms, ammunition or components of firearms or ammunition, or combinations thereof.”
The threat by Republican lawmakers to withhold state funding is not one to be taking lightly. Last year, Memphis received nearly $78 million of its $858 million budget from the state’s sales tax revenue.
The rule of law must prevail. They don’t get a pass because of good intentions.
See how they do with zero state services or funding for anything if they want to continue with this charade.
They got paid by the Soros think tank to poke at the system until they find a crack. Money talks. Otherwise the politicians would not care.
“It’s hard to understand what Memphis leaders are thinking…”
They’re willing to spend other people’s money to virtue signal in losing court battles. What else are they going to do? Crack down on rampant violent crime? They’re Democrats.
They have to blame guns. Otherwise, they’d have to take responsibility for the decline of Memphis.
You’ll hear the usual hot air complaints. What won’t be heard are calls to Define Gun Control by Its History for the voting public. Instead most gun owners will sit on their behinds and watch while the sheepish public is manipulated and led to slaughter. If a judge says Gun Haters can list all their Gun Control manure then the same judge should allow Defining Gun Control by its History for voters. What mindset rode with yesterday’s deranged Gun Control rides with today’s deranged Gun Control. For freedom of information the public needs to see the History of Gun Control attached to the now allowed ballot questions before they willy nilly vote for an Agenda History Confirms is Rooted in Racism and Genocide…Is that too much to ask your honor?
Since Memphis is a majority black city. They should ask is it OK, for only the white police and white people, to be the only ones to have guns???
Since black on black crime is so terrible.
I did ask this question of a rabid anti-gun black woman.
Her attitude suddenly completely changed. She realized real quick the stupidity of her position. And I told her that training was the best way to reduce these shootings. Because you introduce discipline to these young people.
Something they didn’t have. Since their father was replaced by a welfare check.
The “gun community” needs to somewhere find the courage. And ask these gun grabbers if it’s best to disarm black people???
Because if you do the research, that is the reasoning behind early 20th century gun control. To make it safer for the blacks. It was their stated reason for ending mail-order guns.
That is how the blacks got there machine guns. Delivered to there home address.
The leftist antis have already used slave codes and various racist legislative restrictions of the past to argue in court in support of their wanted gun laws so thinking they won’t openly bless naked bigotry with a full throated endorsement in the pursuit of gun grabbing may be foolish.
As it is plenty of the people asking for more government control and less individual liberty are of the very groups that were once enslaved and marginalized. They just miss the cozy comfort of the chains and supplied room and board.
When you zoom out the left is made up of people who want ultimate government control over the individual and individuals who want the government to have ultimate control over them. Sprinkled throughout that spectrum are individuals with delusions of grandeur who think they’ll be the ones in control. Collectively a haphazard gang of narcissists and people with zero self-esteem working to co-enable each others delusions.
Lawfare morphs into workfare for law-crats…