Tennessee Secretary of State Rejects Memphis Gun Control Push: City ‘Can’t Override State Law’

Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett (R) refused to approve a gun control ballot on Monday that the Memphis City Council put forward.

On July 24, 2024, Breitbart News reported that the Memphis City Council approved a referendum to allow city residents to choose to implement a citywide “assault weapon” ban, a prohibition on constitutional carry, and a red flag law, among other gun controls.

WREG reported that the approval of the referendum meant that the gun controls were intended to be on the ballot on November 5, and those controls, if passed, would be added as amendments to the city charter.

The gun controls included:

1. No person shall be allowed to carry a handgun in the City of Memphis without possessing a valid handgun carry permit.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. The citizens of Memphis hereby find and declare that the proliferation and use of assault weapons pose a threat to the health, safety, and security of all citizens of Memphis.
5. Hereafter, it shall be unlawful and prohibited for a person to possess or carry, openly or concealed, any assault rifles in the City of Memphis. Persons with valid handgun permits are exempt from this restriction when possessing or carrying an assault rifle on their privately owned property or at a shooting range.
6. Hereafter, the commercial sale of assault rifles within the City of Memphis is unlawful and is hereby prohibited.

When the city council approved the referendum, Breitbart News noted it would face an uphill legal battle because of the state’s preemption law. Such a law prohibits municipalities from passing gun regulations more stringent than those that exist at the state level.

Commercial Appeal reported that in rejecting the referendum, Hargett said, “Common sense says local governments can’t override state law to give a 12-year-old a driver’s license, and they can’t override other state laws either.”

He added, “Memphis has no authority to circumvent state law. Our office will not approve a ballot with items already preempted by state law.”

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio, a member of Gun Owners of America, and the director of global marketing for Lone Star Hunts. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal in 2010 and has a Ph.D. in Military History. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.