Tennessee House Speaker is pushing legislation to cut state funding to local governments who pass measures that violate state law, renewing new threats to Memphis against voter gun control measures approved in 2024 It may be.

“The Tennessee constitution is clear. The legislature oversees cities and counties,” House Speaker Cameron Sexton said in a statement. “If local governments refuse to comply with state laws or circumvent state laws, they should not expect to benefit from state resources. This law is political at the expense of law-abiding Tennessees. It makes clear that stunts are not tolerated.”

Sexton and Lt. Col. Randy McNally promised to punish Memphis last August. If the city voted on a referendum that would limit the November vote, it reduced its share of sales tax revenue by more than $75 million. Memphis refuses to retreat, and voters then approve city charter changes that require handgun permits, limit the storage of motor vehicle guns, prohibit assault weapons, and enact an extreme risk protection order. I have approved that.

The Memphis City Council adopted these measures after the referendum, but it is not expected to be effective unless state law changes, and it is unclear whether Memphis will be punished.

Memphis City Council Speaker JB Smiley supported gun control measures amid a surge in gun violence, but Mayor Paul Young opposed putting questions on the vote.

Tennessee lawmakers rolled back the state’s handgun permit requirements four years ago at Gov. Bill Lee’s request, and refused to enact a red flag law at the governor’s request, and gun storage and assault weapons were employed. I refused to hand over the ban.

Senator London Lamar of Memphis called the bill a “humiliation of power separation” taught in elementary schools.

“The Attorney General has no authority to choose which laws are constitutional and which laws are not. Power belongs to the courts,” Lamar said. “Let’s go back to working on solving real problems rather than causing legal issues.”

GOP leaders promise punitive tax moves if Memphis passes gun restrictions. The state moves to block them

Under the Sexton bill sponsored by Calhoun Republican Sen. Adam Lowe, state lawmakers can file complaints about local government and ask the Attorney General to investigate. If the Attorney General determines that the local government has breached the law and has not reversed the course within 30 days, the state will not only excluding the state’s shared sales tax, but also all or part of the state funds allocated to the local government. You can withhold it.

In a statement, McNally said the state constitution is clear about restricting local governments from following the law.

“Local government officials need to understand that there are real, concrete consequences to getting out of the lanes of the constitution,” McNally said.

Sexton added that Congress should not allow “fraudulent” local leaders to circumvent state law or constitutions and “immediately revise the course.”

Attorney General Jonathan Skulmetti refused to challenge the judge’s order last year allowing referendum questions to be placed on the ballot. However, Skrmetti has also been referred to as “voter fraud” and “wasting stunts that waste time and money.”