GOP leaders promise punitive tax move if Memphis passes gun restrictions; state moves to block them

Rep. Justin J. Pearson, D-Memphis, holding sign, gestures to House Majority Leader William Lamberth, R-Portland, on the left and pictured from the rear, while Rep. Jason Zachary, R-Knoxville, turns to the camera on August 29, 2023 in Nashville, Tenn. (Photo: John Partipilo)

Tennessee’s House and Senate speakers are threatening to punish Memphis by cutting its share of sales tax revenue – more than $75 million – if the city puts referendums on the November ballot restricting weapons, a move likely to force Memphis to sue the state.

Continuing a feud with the Democratic-controlled Bluff City, Republican leaders, House Speaker Cameron Sexton of Crossville and Lt. Gov. Randy McNally of Oak Ridge, announced Monday in a news release the Legislature “will not tolerate any attempts to go rogue and perform political sideshows.” Their statement says they plan to withhold state shared sales tax to any local government that tries to circumvent state laws.

The speakers’ move comes in response to referendums set for Memphis’ November ballot asking voters whether they approve amendments to the city charter requiring a handgun permit, restrictions on gun storage in cars, an assault weapons ban after Jan. 1, and authority to enact extreme risk protections orders often referred to as red flag laws. F

Following the Republican leaders statements, Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett said his office won’t allow the referendums, all but guaranteeing a lawsuit, according to multiple reports.

A Monday letter to Shelby County Commission Chairman Mark Luttrell from Tennessee Elections Administrator Mark Goins says state law preempts firearms regulation and extreme orders of protection from local ordinances and leaves “no authority” for the city of Memphis to propose charter amendments on them, thus any referendum would be “facially void and cannot be placed on the ballot.”

But City Council Chairman JB Smiley said Monday, “We believe we’re right on the law.” If the council gives him the authority, he said he will instruct the city’s attorney to file for a declaratory judgment in Chancery Court to put the questions on the ballot.

Memphis City Councilman Jeff Warren, who sponsored the referendum resolutions, said he believes Sexton and McNally are confused on the issue, because the referendums would be “enabling” measures that couldn’t take effect without the approval from state lawmakers. Smiley agrees with Warren, saying the City Council would have to act on the referendums too.

“What we’re hoping will happen is the state Legislature will look at this and say, … ‘They’re trying to combat their violent crime by being able to do something about these people with these guns that don’t need them and are using them to commit crimes,” Warren said.

The local government would be able to enforce those resolutions only with state backing, he said.

Warren, a physician by trade, noted people in rural areas are more likely to need weapons to protect crops and livestock from varmints, but that the situation is different in urban areas such as Memphis, where people are “driving around in cars, doing donuts with AK-47s hanging out the car.”

Still, the House Speaker’s Office contends Memphis shouldn’t be trying to pass such measures if they don’t have the effect of law. It further believes they are a tactic to drive voter turnout in November, possibly affecting Republicans with marginal support such as Rep. John Gillespie of Memphis.

“With the recent actions of the progressive, soft-on-crime (district attorney) in Shelby County and the Memphis City Council’s continued efforts to override state law with local measures, we feel it has become necessary to take action and protect all Tennesseans’ rights and liberties. We hope they will change course immediately,” Sexton said in the statement.

McNally echoed the sentiment, saying, “The Tennessee Constitution clearly outlines the roles and responsibilities of the state and local governments. Shelby County needs to understand that despite their hopes and wishes to the contrary, they are constrained by these explicit constitutional guardrails.”

The Republican-controlled Legislature has declined to pass any such proposals the past two years despite a mass shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville where six people, including three 9-year-olds, were killed in March 2023.

Memphis leaders say they’re searching for a solution to an “epidemic” of gun violence that escalated after the state’s General Assembly passed a permit-less handgun carry law.

Memphis City Council Chairman Smiley, co-sponsor of the referendums, said the Legislature can’t legally withhold Memphis and Shelby County tax revenue.

Smiley contended “it’s anti-democratic if we don’t want to listen to the people,” and noted the council’s actions have not violated state law. He called the speakers’ statements “premature.”

“If they believe they’re within their right to withhold tax revenue that’s duly owed to the city of Memphis, we would like to see what the judges say,” Smiley said, predicting such action by the Legislature would be found unconstitutional.

The state lost a handful of court battles with Nashville over the past two years after trying to control Davidson County’s sports, airport and fairground authorities, in addition to cutting the number of Metro Council members from 40 to 20.

Republican state lawmakers has been at odds with Memphis Democrats for several years and passed a measure earlier this session turning back a Memphis ordinance designed to stop police from making “pretextual” traffic stops for minor violations that can lead to confrontations. The council approved that measure in response to the death of Tyre Nichols who died after being beaten by five Memphis police officers when he was stopped for reckless driving in January 2023.

In addition, Sexton and Republican Sen. Brent Taylor, of Memphis, are trying to oust Shelby County District Attorney General Steve Mulroy, a Democrat, claiming he isn’t prosecuting criminal suspects effectively. Even so, the latest reports show the crime rate dropped in Memphis over the last year.

Memphis-based lawmakers erupted Monday in reaction to the speakers’ statements, calling them a form of blackmail

Democratic state Rep. Justin J. Pearson of Memphis said the withholding of state tax dollars would lead to a lawsuit. Pearson was one of two lawmakers expelled from the Legislature for leading a protest on the House floor for stricter gun laws in 2023 in response to The Covenant School shooting. The Memphis City Council returned him to the General Assembly a week later.

Pearson contends Sexton and McNally “can’t help themselves but to unconstitutionally and anti-constitutionally reach into local governments’ matters.” The freshman lawmaker called their announcement “ridiculous, reckless and racist” and also referred to their actions as “tyrannical and authoritarian.”

He noted Sexton is now saying a “majority Black city can’t self-govern” after having him and Rep. Justin Jones of Nashville, both young Black men, expelled from the state General Assembly.

Pearson pointed out the nation was founded on the concept of “no taxation without representation” but that the speakers want to take Memphis’ state shared tax dollars because of the possibility that city voters could disagree with them about gun laws.

Democratic Sen. London Lamar of Memphis accused Republican lawmakers of “dismantling” gun laws and allowing weapons to “flood” the state while “turning a blind eye” to the impact on families and neighborhoods. Under Gov. Bill Lee’s leadership, the Legislature passed a permit-less handgun carry law, and the age was lowered to 18 as the result of a settlement between the state attorney general and a group that sued the state.

Gunshot wounds are now the leading cause of death for Tennessee children, she said.

“The ballot reforms being considered by Memphis voters are common-sense measures designed to curb this epidemic of violence,” Lamar said. “Our community is crying out for solutions, and instead of being met with support, we’re facing intimidation from state politicians who should be our partners in ensuring safety and justice.”

House Minority Leader Karen Camper also blasted the speakers’ move, pointing out Shebly County generated $2 billion in sales tax revenue last year.

“To suggest that these vital funds could be withheld over a local decision aimed at ensuring public safety is shortsighted and counterproductive,” she said in a letter to McNally and Sexton.