Jackson, Mississippi Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba issued an executive order last Friday, using what he claims are his broad civil emergency powers, to “temporarily” suspend law-abiding citizens’ right to carry their legal weapons.
In a video to city residents, Lumumba said the executive order suspended the “carrying of an unconcealed loaded or unloaded pistol or revolver or any other firearm, carried upon the person in a sheath, belt holster or shoulder holster, or in a purse, handbag, satchel, other similar bag or briefcase or fully enclosed case, with such pistol, revolver, or firearm being wholly or partially visible.”
The mayor said his reason for issuing the emergency order was the continued crime in Jackson. But using the Covid-19 pandemic as cover for what has been a decades-long problem in Mississippi’s state capital has led many to question the mayor’s true motivations.
Lumumba said, “If we are sincere in our hope for better outcomes and a brighter future for our youth, we must be moved to action. It is this call to action that has led to my decision to issue an Executive Order suspending Open Carry law during the Covid-19 civil emergency. Under State Statutes 45-17-7(e), I am given the discretion in the interest of public safety and welfare to issue such orders that are necessary for the protection of life and property.
In this moment of great distress and economic tension it is important that we eliminate the ability for illegal weapons to inflict irreparable harm on our city. I want to make it clear that I have no principal disagreement with the Second Amendment right to bear arms, but all rights must be balanced by reasonable regulations. A right that protects illegal guns and puts more people in fear, a right that escalates conflict beyond a point of resolution, and a right that interferes with another person’s right to live is not a legitimate right to be maintained.
Your right to swing ends at my nose.
While this order will only be in effect for a short period of time, I am calling on all Jackson residents, and all state and local leaders to act in the interest of our innocent children. Repeal the Open Carry law which makes it impossible for law enforcement to root out illegal firearms on our streets.”
Notice, as YouTuber Colion Noir does, what the mayor has to say about the Second Amendment. Noir observes, “Any time someone says ‘I have no principal disagreement with the Second Amendment right to bear arms’ pay attention to the next word. I assure you the next word will be BUT …. and everything they say after that is the complete opposite of what they said before the word ‘but.’”
Winning by 93% of the vote in 2017, Lumumba ran on a platform promising to make Jackson MS “the most radical city on the planet,” and it looks like he’s kept his a promise. That he is using the pandemic to get around laws to enact his radical plan is cowardly and shows he really doesn’t care for the Second Amendment.
Jackson’s violent crime rate existed long before Covid-19 but as another leftist, former Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel says, “Never let a serious crisis go to waste. And what I mean by that it’s an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before.”
Apparently, the mayor of Jackson plans on doing a lot more after his “but.”
