by Jon Styf
A gun control ballot initiative is back on Shelby County Nov. 5 ballot after Shelby County Chancellor Melanie Taylor Jefferson (pictured above) ruled in favor of the Memphis City Council, according to several media reports.
The ballot questions, which would be unbinding, have been the subject of debate and legal issues over the past several weeks.
The ballot questions ask about preventing individuals from carrying a handgun without a permit, banning the sale or possession of “assault rifles” in most cases with some exceptions and the addition of extreme risk protection orders, often referred to as red flag laws.
The measures were approved by the city council in July and then recently challenged by state legislative leaders, with House Speaker Cameron Sexton threatening to withhold shared state sales tax from Memphis if the referendum were on the ballot.
Memphis received $78 million in shared sales tax last budget year, State Affairs reported.
The Shelby County Election Commission then said it would follow direction from state leadership and not place the issues on the ballot.
Then the Memphis City Council announced it would challenge that ruling in a lawsuit.
– – –
Jon Styf is an award-winning editor and reporter of The Center Square who has worked in Illinois, Texas, Wisconsin, Florida and Michigan in local newsrooms over the past 20 years, working for Shaw Media, Hearst and several other companies.
