A Shelby County chancellor has ruled that three gun control issues may appear on the November ballot in Memphis, according to WMC News and other news agencies, despite a warning from the Tennessee Secretary of State’s office the measures violate several state laws.
As noted by The Guardian, several top Republican lawmakers have “threatened to withhold tens of millions of dollars in state funding should city leaders put the initiative before voters.”
The Memphis City Council earlier this year approved placing three questions on the ballot. When the city was advised by the Secretary of State the legal problem could void the measures, the city went to court.
Shelby County Chancellor Melanie Taylor Jefferson ruled in the city’s favor following a hearing.
According to WTVC News, the judge said the questions could appear on the ballot “because they had not yet amended the city’s charter and are just proposals.”
WMC is reporting that the Shelby County Commission voted to support the Memphis council’s lawsuit. The vote was 8-3-1, the station said.
The questions which will now appear on the ballot are:
- Whether the city charter should be amended to require a permit to carry a handgun within city limits
- Should the city ban possession of semiautomatic rifles
- Should the city implement a so-called “red flag law.”
According to WMC, the city could face the GOP-controlled legislature’s withholding of up to $78 million in sales tax revenue, a figure cited in a report about last year’s revenue.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee reportedly has declined to reveal whether he will sign legislation to keep the tax revenue money away from Memphis. He said Tennessee gun laws must have uniformity.
