Tennessee judge rules gun control questions can go on Memphis ballot

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A Tennessee judge ruled Wednesday that three gun control questions can go on the November ballot in Memphis, even as top Republican state leaders have threatened to withhold tens of millions of dollars in state funding should city leaders put the initiative before voters.

The Daily Memphian reports that Shelby County Chancellor Melanie Taylor Jefferson sided with the Memphis City Council, which sued the Shelby County Election Commission last month for refusing to put gun control measures on the ballot.

In August, the election commission announced they could not place the questions on the ballot because the Secretary of State’s office had warned they violated several of Tennessee’s laws, making them void and ineligible. In response, the Memphis City Council filed a complaint requesting a judge overrule the commission’s decision.

After a hearing on Wednesday, Taylor Jefferson said the measures could go on the ballot because they had not yet amended the city’s charter and are just proposals. It’s unknown if the commission, who is represented by the state’s Attorney General’s office, will appeal the decision.

Earlier this year, the Memphis City Council approved a proposal to ask if voters wanted to tweak the city charter to require permits to carry a handgun, ban the possession of AR-15 style rifles and implement a so-called red flag ordinance, which allows law enforcement officials to remove firearms from those found to be an imminent danger to themselves or others.

The council acknowledged at times that they were potentially risking the ire of the Republican-dominant Legislature since the measures likely conflict with Tennessee’s lax gun laws. This includes the state’s permitless carry for handguns and a ban on local cities and counties from implementing their own red flag laws.

Regardless, council members representing the large Black-majority, left-leaning city said they were willing to take the risk.

House Speaker Cameron Sexton and Senate Speaker Randy McNally later issued a statement warning Memphis about the consequences of advancing ballot measures that go against the Statehouse’s wishes.

“The Legislature will not tolerate any attempts to go rogue and perform political sideshows,” they said in a news release. “If they do not want to participate within the state and state laws, then they do not need to participate in the state’s successes. Both Speakers will be acting to withhold state shared sales tax to any local government who attempts to take this type of action.”

Last year, Memphis received nearly $78 million from the state’s sales tax revenue. The city currently operates on an $858 million budget.

“They didn’t listen to the elected reps, councilmembers, senators, commissioners of the 901,” JB Smiley, a Memphis city councilman, wrote on social media while referencing the local area code. “Maybe just maybe they will listen to thousands and thousands of residents who will tell them that gun reform for our community is a matter of life and death.”