The city of Jackson cannot restrict your right to openly carry a firearm, whether the city is under an emergency order or not.
Federal district judge Dan Jordan issued the ruling today.
Click here for the ruling.
The Mississippi Justice Institute, a non-profit constitutional litigation center and the legal arm of the Mississippi Center for Public Policy, filed the lawsuit on behalf of State Rep. Dana Criswell.
Last month, Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba signed an executive order attempting to override constitutional rights and state law in order to prohibit open carry in the city.
“A serious pandemic is not an opportunity for unconstitutional virtue signaling by grandstanding politicians,” said 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,” said 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.”
The lawsuit argued that the U.S. Constitution and the Mississippi Constitution protect the right to openly carry firearms in public for self-defense, as do Mississippi statutes. A mayor does not have the authority to override these constitutional rights, even during a state of emergency.
