MEMPHIS, Tenn. — For now, it appears a charter referendum ordinance on gun control in the City of Memphis will not appear on the November ballot.
The Shelby County Election Commission told ABC24 it will follow guidance from the Tennessee Coordinator of Elections. According to Shelby County Administrator of Elections Linda Phillips, the state advised the local election commission that the ordinance “may be preempted by state law.”
Phillips said her office will follow that state guidance, unless the City of Memphis takes the matter to court. If so, the Shelby County Election Commission “will respect the final decision made by the courts.”
Tennessee's top Republican leaders on Monday threatened to withhold tens of millions of dollars in state funding from Memphis should city leaders continue with plans to place three local gun control initiatives on the November ballot.
Secretary of State Tre Hargett said his office would not approve such a measure for a ballot.
The Memphis City Council approved the measure in July for the November 2024 ballot for voters to decide whether to amend the City of Memphis charter to restrict gun carry within the city, despite the Tennessee law allowing for permit-less carry.
The ballot measure reads:
“Shall the Charter of the City of Memphis be amended to read:
- No person shall be allowed to carry a handgun in the City of Memphis without possessing a valid handgun carry permit.
- No person shall be allowed to carry, store, or travel with a handgun in a vehicle in the City of Memphis without possessing a valid handgun permit.
- It shall be unlawful for a person to store a firearm, whether loaded or unloaded, or firearm ammunition, in a motor vehicle or boat while the person is not in the motor vehicle or boat unless the firearm or firearm ammunition is kept from ordinary observation and locked within the trunk, utility or glove box, or a locked container securely affixed to the motor vehicle or boat.
I, Shirley Ford, Director of Finance for the City of Memphis do hereby certify that the foregoing amendment shall have no impact on the annual revenues and expenditures of the City.”
In a letter dated Aug. 26 to the Shelby County Election Commission, Hargett said the measure was not "properly presented for placement" on the November 2024 ballot.
In 2021, the Republican lawmakers and GOP Gov. Bill Lee signed off on permitless carry for handguns and then in May of this year banned local cities and counties from implementing their own red flag laws. Meanwhile, many inside that same Republican supermajority have rebuffed calls to place limits on firearms, an effort that has only increased after a gunman shot and killed three adults and three 9-year-olds in a Nashville private school last year.
With Election Day less than three months away, House Speaker Cameron Sexton and Senate Speaker Randy McNally issued a statement Monday warning Memphis about the consequences of advancing ballot measures that go against the wishes of the Statehouse.
“The Tennessee Constitution clearly outlines the roles and responsibilities of the state and local governments," McNally, a Republican from Oak Ridge, said in the statement. “Shelby County needs to understand that despite their hopes and wishes to the contrary, they are constrained by these explicit constitutional guardrails.”
Last year, Memphis received nearly $78 million from the state's sales tax revenue. The city currently operates an $858 million budget.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.