In its ruling, the Court made clear that Memphis’ sweeping local gun restrictions were not just unlawful—but entirely void.
The following are two major points outlined in the order:
- The City CONCEDED its ordinance violates state law.
Memphis admitted that every line of its handgun-carry ban, vehicle-storage rule, so-called “assault rifle” ban, and red-flag scheme is 100% illegal under Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-1314. (Order pp. 3, 9–11) - The Judge called the ordinance “DEAD AS A DOORNAIL.”
The Chancellor wrote that “The Ordinance and those who proposed it engaged in ‘virtue signaling,’” but “the Ordinance is as dead as a proverbial doornail as a matter of Tennessee law.” (Order p. 6)
Simply put, the Memphis ordinance is entirely unenforceable.
Erich Pratt, Senior Vice President of Gun Owners of America, issued the following statement:
Memphis may be known as ‘Bluff City,’ but this ridiculous ordinance is a textbook example of a city passing an illegal law just to make a political point. Of course, Memphis was bluffing—and waved the white flag the moment GOA walked into court. The judge simply read their surrender out loud. Litigation like this is critical to defending law-abiding gun owners from reckless and unconstitutional actions by local politicians. Memphis’s deceitful ‘virtue signaling’ endangered residents and visitors alike, exposing them to unlawful prosecution. Such abuses have no place in a constitutional republic.
The city’s bad faith should obligate the people who voted for the ordinance to personally pay GOA’s attorney fees.
John C,
Time to eliminate governmental immunity. These idjits SHOULD be liable for their f*cktardery. Any city resident/taxpayer should be able to bring a suit, PERSONALLY, against any idiot city official who spent money on this performative boondoggle.
Problem with that is, if the city is liable, the payment comes from the taxpayers the politicians were trying to screw.
Instead, make the politicians personally liable for KNOWINGLY enacting an ordinance that violates the state constitution.
Unfortunately, the courts tend to hold the taxpayers liable because they voted for these idiots in the first place.
?
So, there is no penalty for inflicting an unconstitutional law on the citizens of Memphis. If I decided that, as matter of public policy, veganism was bad and went about burning gardens and knocking Impossible Burgers out of people’s hands, the judge would just rule that I overstepped and make me stop, he’d send me to jail. What the Memphis politicians did was worse. No penalty at all?
The problem is that they do this over and over and over. NY is famous for getting its gun control laws slapped down, and then just passing what is essentially the same law again (well, the USSC struck down Bill 45, but this is bill 357; so its a different law even though it’s a copy and paste of law 45). Then the people have to fight the same fight over again.
What we need is when a law is ruled as unconstitutional by a state supreme court (for a state law), or the USSC (for a state or federal law), those who voted for it are removed from office, and are no longer eligible to hold any public office (elected, appointed, or hired). They should be penalized for violating their oath of office.
That sounds good, but not all laws are as open and shut as this farce was. Sometimes the constitutionality is genuinely vague, and attempting a law is the only way to settle the question.
And picture a SCOTUS with a Dem majority that strikes doen actions as unconstitutional simply as a tool to force out GOP (or even sanish Dem) officials. If you can’t picture that, I certainly can.