MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Shelby County Commission voted during Monday night's commission meeting to support the City of Memphis in its lawsuit to put three gun safety ordinances on the November ballot.
In August, the city sued because Tennessee lawmakers would not allow ballot measures arguing they would go against state law that's already in place. The Shelby County Election Commission complied with the state's demands, barring the measures from the ballot.
The County Commission voted in an 8 to 3 motion to pass the resolution supporting the city. Shelby County Commissioner Erika Sugarmon said they will now file an amicus brief supporting the lawsuit by the City of Memphis.
Sugarmon told ABC24 this filing means they are not joining the lawsuit with the City of Memphis, but they are legally and publicly showing support to state officials they want to protect the rights and needs of county residents.
"It's a slippery slope because if the state can get away this, what's next. What else are you going to say we can't put on the ballots," Sugarmon said. "We wanna make sure that we protect our right to vote."
During Monday night's commissioner meeting, some of the Shelby County Commissioners called state officials bullies for threatening to withhold state sales tax revenue from Memphis over placing a gun control measure for voters to decide on in November.
Sugarmon said the commission should be able to govern themselves. She believes allowing county residents to take up those ordinances to a vote in November could help prevent incidents such as last week's deadly mass shooting a Georgia school from happening in Shelby County.
Sugarmon told ABC24 that taxpayers - not state officials - should be making the decision on gun safety measures.
"We have home rule, we know what's best for our citizens, but more than that, the voters know what's best for themselves," she said. "So don't disenfranchise our people, let us vote and we can make the decision. Whether we vote up or down it's up to us."
Sugarmon said they plan to file the amicus brief before September 16.
