Jackson Open Carry Lawsuit
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Last week, Jackson, Mississippi Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba announced that he had signed an order banning the open carry of firearms in the city, despite the fact that such an action violates multiple state laws, the Mississippi constitution, and the Second Amendment.

On April 26, Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch sent Lumumba a letter instructing him to rescind his order, explaining that he lacks that authority.

Lumumba doubled down on April 27 in another press release announcing a reward for the information in the two child murders which he had used as justification for his unlawful order. No publicly available information suggests that lawful open carry was at all involved in either killing.

Chokwe Antar Lumumba
Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

On the evening of April 28, the Mississippi Justice Institute, part of Mississippi Center for Public Policy, on behalf of state Rep. Dana Criswell of Olive Branch, Mississippi, filed a lawsuit in the US District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi challenging the order. It can be read here.

“A serious pandemic is not an opportunity for unconstitutional virtue signaling by grandstanding politicians,” said Aaron Rice, the Director of the Mississippi Justice Institute.

Rep. Criswell said . . .

“When I first learned of this executive order by Mayor Lumumba, I was shocked at the attempt to use a health crisis to further his anti-gun agenda and limit my rights. Disarming law-abiding citizens does nothing to address the crime wave taking place in the city of Jackson and only puts me and my family in danger. I am thankful for organizations like the Mississippi Justice Institute and their willingness to help me fight for our rights and our freedoms.”

Mayor Lumumba has not responded to repeated requests for comment on his alleged authority to ban open carry, whether lawful open carry was a factor in the two shootings deaths of minors he cited as justification, whether anyone lawfully open carrying has committed any unlawful shooting in Jackson, or his reaction to the Criswell lawsuit.

Despite two official videos announcing the order, and a new mention of it in a press release, the order does not yet appear on the city web site.

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37 COMMENTS

  1. Doesn’t anyone else but me think it’s time politicians that take a oath to uphold the U S constitution & then trample on the constitution should be immediately thrown out of office.

    • it is my personal belief that they should be dragged out of their offices and then hung on the lawns of the council/govt offices. When they craft laws that are blatantly unconstitutional and remove rights of people who have committed NO crime it is an act of treason against the people and must be treated as such. They have been getting away with it for too long already and that is why they are now so brazen

    • But when you operate with a banana republic mentality, then you don’t worry about a silly old document written a long time ago.

      • Good point. When thge government doesn’t fear being held accountable, they need not concern themselves with the peasants. Heck, plenty of the folks on here dont understand that a police officer asking for a permit, is who the 2nd Amendment is protection from. The boomers are indoctrinated to be subservient to a corrupt government. In black communIties, open carry means hanging out the window shooting folks in a driveby.

        • exactly spot on and what i have always said. when the 2A says shall not be infringed it means no licensing, it means carry in whatever style you wish, it means definitely no registration. It means the cops are not allowed to harass you UNLESS you are actually breaking the law or they have reasonable evidence to suggest you have broken a law not that you may be going to. Anything less is just degrees of tyranny. Personally I dont think they should be able to “require” serial numbers on anything. If a car or firearms or any other manufacturer wishes to put them on that should be up to them. Same with many of the workplace regulations. Sure they may protect the dumb from the unscrupulous but I would rather have free choice than have all this shit forced on me. Yes I am an Aussie that has a bigger problem with authority than many Americans do

    • this is rapidly becoming a tactic of the gun-grabbing left…challenge state authority…then wait to see what happens…with little consequence…

  2. Here’s a snippet from his wikipedia page:

    Lumumba was endorsed by Our Revolution[5] and the Working Families Party,[6] and ran on a progressive platform promising to make Jackson “the most radical city on the planet.”

    I’m sure that his banning guns has nothing to do with “Our Revolution” or being a progressive, I’m sure it was all about “public safety” somehow…

  3. Another lawsuit where the courts will side with the government. Expect the judge to rule that banning open carry is constitutional. Expect anti-gun states to then say all open carry is illegal of any kind. One that is challenged in court expect every judge to say open carry should be illegal. But then again every judge believes all gun owners should be rounded up an exterminated So I’m not sure what else I would expect.

      • Why should we be? We have been asking for permission, playing nice, and getting trampled on. Are we decent people? Yes. But we are treated like criminals for wanting to protect ourselves and the government to stay out of our business? Fucking being positive. This needs to change. Do you enjoy having 37% of your income taxed? Do you enjoy being told you cannot carry a gun simply because of where you live? No, you don’t. So what exactly do you have to be cheerful about? Ignorance is bliss I guess.

    • That will NOT happen in MS. Baby Chok (named after his daddy) is only in office in Jackson because the city is 80% black. And this latest pronouncement is even too much for them. His political career is over – he just don’t know it yet.

    • If open carry is banned how will hunters tote around their huntin’ guns? For years anti gun democRats have tried to divide firearm owners. Due to more politically correct firearms the huntin’ crowd always received special democRat blessings. So for mealy mouth democRats to talk about banning open carry would not go well with hunters much less anyone else.

  4. Obviously the mayor is a product of what dropped out of bill ayers’ lily white marxist behind. Has nothing to do with the color of his skin. If it did there would not be millions of lily white democrat useful idiots who think the exact same way as the mayor.
    A letter from an AG requesting to recend and now a lawsuit…A pompous stick in the mud tyrannical democrat mayor is going to get a spanking.

    • It’s just sad that the taxpaying citizens will foot the bill for this asshats actions. Until pols, cops, and buracraps are held personally financially responsible this shit will never stop.

    • Actually, it does have a little do with the color of his skin. The majority of Jackson is the same color as him. They saw that, voted for him mainly because of that, so here we are.

  5. Well whaddaya know — another political grifter does something illegal. Jeez, that never happens. Oh, and it looks like Kweisi Mfume just won a special election in MD.

  6. So, if found guilty, what of? Because it sounds like tyranny. Right? Unconstitutional acts done by those in office are exactly that. No way to sugar coat it. Of course, nothing will happen because he’s black, and all gun owner are racist. Anyone who speaks out against such an extremist like him would without a doubt be a racist… even Colion Noir could not do it.

  7. This isn’t phucking Sierra Leone or Rwanda, what’s next he’s going to send militias to rape conservative women and burn gun stores?

  8. How is this not a slam-dunk, clear-cut criminal case of Title 18, U.S.C., § 242 — Deprivation of Rights Under Color of Law?

    And if law enforcement personnel set out to enforce the Mayor’s criminal edict, how are all of them not guilty of U.S.C., § 241 — Conspiracy Against Rights — in addition to being guilty of § 242 as well?

    When will our feckless federal prosecutors start upholding JUSTICE for we the people?

    • Why doesn’t the country/parish sheriff arrest him? Deputize as many pissed off citizens as needed, or call in the state police for assistance?

      • nothing like that will ever happen unless he decides to push it…which he won’t…he’ll back off at the appropriate time….while blaming others….

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