Tennessee Attorney General Says State Will Not Appeal Ruling In Favor Of Memphis Gun Control Referendum

Image Credit: Tennessee Attorney General / Facebook & Canva

The Tennessee Conservative Staff –

The state has decided it will not appeal a Shelby County Chancellor’s ruling that will allow a vote on three different gun control measures to appear on November’s ballot.

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti says that, while he believes the referendum is a “fraud,” his office will not contest the decision made by Shelby County Chancellor Melanie Taylor Jefferson.

“These ballot questions are a fraud on the voters of Memphis,” Skrmetti said in a statement. “They will not change the law. This is a futile stunt that wastes time and money when the city council should focus on ensuring existing laws are enforced.”

He then went on to explain why they would not appeal, instead opting to leave Memphis to deal with its own consequences for moving forward.

He continued, “However, we respect the court’s analysis of whether the vote should proceed and will not file an emergency appeal. This is Memphis’s mistake to make and will ultimately be Memphis’s mistake to pay for, as the state preemption law authorizes triple attorney’s fees against cities in violation.”

The referendum was originally approved by the Memphis City Council back in July with plans to ask voters three questions regarding a ban on the sale of assault weapons, red flag laws, and gun storage requirements.

After the state legislature threatened to withhold state sales tax revenue from the city, the referendum was rejected by the Shelby County Election Commission. The city council then sued the election commission.

On September 11, Chancellor Jefferson ruled that the referendum could move forward because it was just regarding a proposed change and was not an amendment to the charter itself.

If included, the measure will read as follows:

“Shall the Charter of the City of Memphis be amended to read: 

• No person shall be allowed to carry a handgun in the City of Memphis without possessing a valid handgun carry permit. 
• No person shall be allowed to carry, store, or travel with a handgun in a vehicle in the City of Memphis without possessing a valid handgun permit. 
• 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 or boat unless the firearm or firearm ammunition is kept from ordinary observation and locked within the trunk, utility or glove box, or a locked container securely affixed to the motor vehicle or boat.”