NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee Republican leaders threatened Monday to withhold tens of millions of dollars in state grants from the left-leaning city of Memphis if party leaders stick to their plans to put three local gun control initiatives on the ballot in November.
Earlier this year, the Memphis City Council decided to ask voters in November whether it wanted to amend the city constitution to require a permit to carry handguns, ban ownership of AR-15-style rifles and enact a so-called “red flag” ordinance that would allow police officers to confiscate firearms from people who pose an imminent danger to themselves or others.
The city council had been debating the ballot proposals for more than a year, at times acknowledging that it might risk the wrath of the Republican-dominated legislature because the proposals would likely conflict with Tennessee’s lax gun laws.
Regardless, city council members representing the state’s most populous and black-dominated region said they were willing to “take the risk.”
“This is an opportunity for the citizens of Memphis to have their say,” City Councilman Chase Carlisle said during a committee meeting in 2023 when the measures were first discussed. “Whether this is constitutionally enforceable or not, I think is moot. I think it’s an opportunity for the General Assembly, whether they’re listening or not, to understand where we stand as a community. And give people a voice.”
“We will take the risk. If the General Assembly wants to punish us and our citizens for asking for help, we will respond accordingly, but that would be absolutely heartbreaking,” Carlisle added.
In 2021, Republican lawmakers and Republican Gov. Bill Lee approved permit-free handgun carry and then in May of this year banned local cities and counties from implementing their own “red flag” laws. Meanwhile, many members of that same Republican supermajority have rejected calls for firearm restrictions. Those efforts have only intensified after a gunman shot and killed three adults and three 9-year-olds at a Nashville private school last year.
Less than three months before Election Day, House Speaker Cameron Sexton and Senate Speaker Randy McNally released a statement Monday warning the people of Memphis of the consequences of passing ballot measures against the will of the House.
“The Tennessee State Constitution clearly outlines the roles and responsibilities of state and local governments,” McNally, a Republican from Oak Ridge, said in the statement. “Shelby County must understand that it is bound by these explicit constitutional guardrails, despite its hopes and desires to the contrary.”
After the statement was released, Secretary of State Tre Hargett warned that his office would not approve the Memphis ballot if it included the gun initiatives.
“Common sense says local governments cannot override state law to give a 12-year-old a driver’s license, nor can they override other state laws. Memphis has no authority to circumvent state law. Our office will not approve a ballot that contains items that have already been preempted by state law.”
Last year, Memphis received nearly $78 million in state sales tax revenue. The city’s current budget is $858 million.
“Guns pose a different risk to Memphis residents than to other communities, but we understand that we must work with our state to develop a set of tools to restore peace to our community,” Mayor Paul Young said in a statement in response to the legislature’s ultimatum. “What happens next is up to voters and the legislature.”
Members of Tennessee’s majority-white legislature have long criticized Memphis, particularly its management of crime rates, and expressed distrust of the response of black city leaders. In 2023, the city recorded a record 398 murders and burglaries rose to over 14,000.
However, according to preliminary figures from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation released by the Memphis Shelby Crime Commission, the rate of reported crime in Memphis in the first half of 2024 remained below that of the first half of 2023 in nearly all major categories, including the violent crimes of murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault. The violent crime rate decreased 5.1% in the first half of the year compared to 2023, with all four categories seeing declines. The commission did not elaborate on the reasons for the decline.
Trust was further damaged this year when Republican lawmakers and the governor signed a bill to reverse traffic stop reforms put in place after the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols by police last year. The legislature persisted in repealing a Memphis City Council ordinance banning so-called sham traffic stops for minor violations such as a broken tail light, despite emotional pleas from Nichols’ family to drop the measure.
