Jackson, Mississippi Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba issued an executive order a week ago banning open carry in his city. Lumumba used two shootings involving children as justification for the move, even though neither instance involved the open carry of firearms. He also claimed open carry made policing more difficult.
Mississippi has a preemption law that prohibits local jurisdictions from enacting gun control regulations that are more restrictive than state law. In response a federal lawsuit was filed challenging Lumumba’s open carry ban.
Yesterday, the Jackson city council rejected the Hizzoner’s ban and hired an attorney to represent them in the federal lawsuit.
Now, according to yallpolitics.com, Mayor Lumumba is backing off.
Just three days after Mississippi Justice Institute filed a lawsuit against Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba’s order banning open carry, the mayor appears to be backing down.
The order expires today with Lumumba choosing not to renew it, even though he previously indicated he might extend the open carry ban, and even though he did extend portions of his “stay at home” order.
“We are glad that Mayor Lumumba appears to have realized that he cannot lawfully disarm law-abiding citizens and ‘suspend’ constitutional rights,” said Aaron Rice, the Director of the Mississippi Justice Institute. “Now, more than ever, we must remain vigilant to protect our civil liberties. MJI will always be here to fight for Mississippians when an overbearing government tries to infringe on the freedoms that are the strength of our state and our country.”
As the Clarion-Ledger reports, Lumumba got lots of support for the short-lived political stunt from Michael Bloomberg’s hoplophobic harridans and Everytown.
Lumumba was flanked by organizers with Moms Demand Action, a national organization that works to protect people from gun violence, during Thursday’s press conference in the garden next to City Hall.
The controversial open carry ban was short-lived, but Lumumba said he still believes such an order is necessary to curb gun violence in the city.
Other organizations, such as the Poor People’s Campaign and Every Town for Gun Safety, had also reached out in support, he said.