Does Memphis win the battle but lose the war with gun-control referendum?
From left to right: JB Smiley Jr., Jerri Green, Paul Young and Cameron Sexton have all said something about Memphis’ gun-control referedum. (From left to right: Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian; Benjamin Naylor/The Daily Memphian file; Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian; George Walker IV/AP file)
Jay Ballard, an attorney from the Tennessee Attorney General’s office, stood in a Memphis courtroom Wednesday, Sept. 11, and quoted Memphis Mayor Paul Young.
“I believe putting it on the referendum as a ballot item is going to be futile because local law cannot trump state law. Even if we approve this referendum, it does not change how we operate on the ground in Memphis. I think that’s confusing to our residents,” Ballard said, reading from Young’s remarks about the gun referendum that put the Memphis City Council into direct conflict with the State of Tennessee.
Moments later, Shelby County Chancellor Melanie Taylor Jefferson ruled the gun referendums could go on the Nov. 5 ballot. She agreed with the City Council’s legal argument that even if the ballot questions are against Tennessee law, that law only applies if the proposals pass.
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Samuel Hardiman
Samuel Hardiman is an enterprise reporter who focuses on government and politics. He began his career at the Tulsa World where he covered business and K-12 education. Hardiman came to Memphis in 2018 to join the Memphis Business Journal, covering government and economic development. He then served as the Commercial Appeal’s city hall reporter and later joined The Daily Memphian in 2023. His current work focuses on the intersection of government, public policy, influence and how public dollars are spent.
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