After Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch informed the mayor of Jackson that his order to ban the open carry of firearms was in violation of the state’s constitution, the Mississippi Justice Institute brought the issue to court, filing a lawsuit for State Representative Dana Criswell.
The lawsuit was filed in federal court and targets Mayor Chokwe Lumumba and argues that the mayor’s arbitrary decision to ban open carry in Jackson infringes on the Second Amendment rights of residents.
“A serious pandemic is not an opportunity for unconstitutional virtue signaling by grandstanding politicians,” declared Aaron Rice, the Director of the Mississippi Justice Institute. “Mayor Lumumba has exploited the present public health crisis as a pretext to target law abiding people who are exercising their constitutional rights.”
“As a citizen of the great state of Mississippi who has regular business in our capital city of Jackson, I was shocked by the recent announcement by Mayor Lumumba,” declared Criswell. “I take the protection of myself and my family very seriously and believe deeply in the constitutional right to keep and bear arms. The mayor’s attempt to disarm me and deny me the ability of self-defense puts me and my family in danger anytime we are in Jackson.”
Mayor Lumumba has been deemed “the most radical mayor in America” by progressive activists. His recent action demonstrates that he is living up to his billing. According to the state’s attorney general, the mayor does not have the power to implement a ban under the state’s emergency powers law. In addition, the attorney general argued that the state’s constitution and statutes allow for open carry of firearms even during a state of emergency.
At a press conference on April 27, 2020, Lumumba admitted that his office received various complaints over his order, but completely dismissed the criticism coming from non-residents of Jackson.
Mayor Lumumba stated, “the calls that I have received have in large part been from people who neither live in Jackson nor are suffering under the consequences of their children being killed.”
The mayor is focusing on “illegal guns” and individuals not allowed to possess them.
“I’m motivated by what I have seen recently looking at the officer cams as they arrive on scene for the babies that were killed recently,” declared Mayor Lumumba.
The Jackson Mayor should be focusing his attention on the city’s overall violence and targeting segments of the population that are more prone to violence as opposed to infringing on the gun rights of thousands of law-abiding gun owners.
Then, he could get to the bottom of Jackson’s crime problem.
