Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti won’t challenge a legal ruling allowing the placement of three gun control measures on the November 5 ballot in Memphis. (Photo: John Partipilo)
In a missive to Memphis and a veiled threat, Tennessee’s attorney general said he won’t challenge a chancellor’s ruling allowing the City Council to place three gun-restriction questions on the November ballot.
Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti released a statement Friday to several news organizations, including the Associated Press, saying “we respect the court’s analysis of whether the vote should proceed and will not file an emergency appeal.” Yet Skrmetti also called the three referendum questions planned for the November ballot a “fraud on the voters” and “a futile stunt that wastes time and money,” pointing out they won’t change the law.
The attorney general also appeared to be setting the course for potential state action against the city, saying, “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.”
People of Shelby County deserve a right to say how they feel about a particular issue that affects our community different than any other community in the state of Tennessee.
– JB Smiley, chair, Memphis City Council
Skrmetti’s statement came after a Shelby County chancellor ruled that the Memphis City Council can put three non-binding questions on the ballot. Those will ask voters where they stand on charter amendments on a requirement for handgun permits, restrictions on assault-style weapons and a process for confiscating weapons through extreme risk protection orders.
Memphis City Council referendum sponsors say the referendum questions are needed in light of an emergency involving gun-related crimes. City Council Chairman JB Smiley and Jeff Warren say the referendum would be similar to the “trigger law” the state Legislature passed to ban abortion in case the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, which it did two years ago.
Smiley told the Lookout this week that Skrmetti was “following the instruction of his master,” referring to Republican-controlled state leadership.
“People of Shelby County deserve a right to say how they feel about a particular issue that affects our community different than any other community in the state of Tennessee,” Smiley said.
Further, Smiley contends the state should “carve out” Shelby County and pass private acts allowing it to restrict weapons because of the high number of murders and gun thefts from vehicles.
GOP leaders promise punitive tax move if Memphis passes gun restrictions; state moves to block them
Statistics show the number of weapons stolen from cars escalated after the Legislature passed the “guns in trunks” bill more than a decade ago, then gun crimes spiked after the state adopted a permit-less handgun carry law.
The situation erupted recently after House Speaker Cameron Sexton and Lt. Gov. Randy McNally issued a release saying they would try to eliminate nearly $78 million in state-shared tax revenue from Shelby County if Memphis put the gun-restriction questions on the ballot.
The Secretary of State’s Office then notified the Shelby County Election Commission that such questions were illegal because of a state law that preempts local governments from adopting gun laws. The election commission, without a vote, said the questions couldn’t go on the ballot.
After legal a challenge by the Memphis City Council, Chancellor Melanie Taylor ruled that the questions could go before voters in November. Smiley recently said the referendum measures would be on the ballot.
Republican Sen. Brent Taylor of Shelby County said last week the state didn’t have a strong legal argument because a previous Supreme Court ruling allowed Memphis to place a question on the ballot about payroll taxes some 20 years ago.
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