Voters in Memphis approved by a landslide a nonbinding ordinance limiting use of some weapons within city limits on Tuesday.
The three-part measure included a prohibition on handgun carry without a valid permit, a ban on so-called assault rifles and a provision to create extreme risk orders of protection, which allow weapons to be confiscated from anyone deemed a threat to themselves or orders following a judicial hearing.
Memphis Councilmember Jerri Green, a survivor of gun violence who campaigned on behalf of the gun ordinance, said Memphis residents wanted to take action.
“The citizens of Memphis are tired of their friends and family being victims of gun violence and tired of their children going to school and Grizzlies games and worrying,” said Green. “The only thing that is tying their hands is our legislature who are beholden to the NRA and not the citizens of the state of Tennessee.”
In August, the Memphis City Council voted to place the ordinance on the ballot, a move that set off a chain of threats by Republican lawmakers to Democratic city leaders, and subsequent lawsuits from the city.
House Speaker Cameron Sexton and Lt. Gov. Randy McNally announced on Aug. 26 they would withhold state shared sales tax to any local government that tries to circumvent state laws.
The pair’s press release was followed by a statement from Secretary of State Tre Hargett saying state law prohibited Memphis from putting the gun questions on the ballot
City officials filed suit against the Shelby County Election Commission after it declined to place the ordinance on the ballot, a move Memphis Council President JB Smiley called “a direct attack” against the council. A Shelby County judge ruled in favor of city council.
City leaders have said the measure will act much as the state’s abortion “trigger ban” did: only if state law is changed will the gun safety measure take effect.
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