The decision to exclude three gun control questions from the November ballot in Memphis, Tennessee was made by election officials on Tuesday. This came after prominent Republican state leaders threatened to withhold significant state funding. Tennessee election coordinator, Mark Goins, sent a letter to the Shelby County Election Commission stating that the gun control measures breached state laws, rendering them ineligible for the ballot. House Speaker Cameron Sexton and Senate Speaker Randy McNally had issued the funding ultimatum just hours prior to Goins’ letter. The General Assembly’s clear directives, according to Goins, left no room for Memphis officials to propose such charter amendments and raised concerns about the city’s adherence to the required public notice procedures for referendums.
Shelby County Administrator of Elections Linda Phillips remarked that the commission would abide by the guidance of the state elections coordinator in conducting elections. She added that if the City of Memphis chose to challenge this interpretation, they would defer to the courts’ final decision. This decision follows the Memphis City Council’s approval earlier this year of a proposal to amend the city charter by requiring permits for carrying handguns, banning AR-15 style rifles, and implementing a red flag ordinance allowing authorities to confiscate firearms from individuals deemed a danger to themselves or others. The council members acknowledged the potential conflict with Tennessee’s lenient gun laws and the risk of facing repercussions from the Republican-dominated Legislature.
Despite the foreseen backlash, council members representing the predominantly Black and left-leaning city expressed readiness to face any consequences. However, the move to proceed with the gun control questions prompted threats from top Republican lawmakers to withhold funding and a warning from Secretary of State Tre Hargett that his office would not approve Memphis’ ballot if it included the gun initiatives. Last year, Memphis received nearly $78 million from the state’s sales tax revenue, constituting a significant portion of the city’s $858 million budget. Mayor Paul Young, in response to the Legislature’s ultimatum, emphasized the need to collaborate with the state to address security concerns in the community.
The decision was praised by Senate Speaker Randy McNally, who commended the election commission for recognizing that the county must comply with state laws. The strained relationship between Memphis leaders and the predominantly white Legislature has been exacerbated by criticisms of the city’s approach to managing crime rates, particularly with the record-breaking number of homicides and burglaries in 2023. While preliminary figures from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation show a decrease in reported crime rates for the first half of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023, the trust between Memphis and the state government was further strained by recent legislative actions that reversed police traffic stop reforms instituted following a fatal altercation with Tyre Nichols. State Rep. Justin J. Pearson, representing a Memphis district, condemned the decision as detrimental to democracy and called for potential legal action by the city council against what he described as authoritarian actions by the state’s Republican leadership.