Blackburn: Lee Harris Should Put Memphis First, Not Criminals

Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) told KWAM News Radio that Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris and Democrats should put Memphis first, not criminals.

Chancellor Patricia Head Moskal issued a 35-page court order demanding the National Guard to be withdrawn from Memphis.

“The governor may only call the militia into service in cases of rebellion or invasion and only with the General Assembly’s declaration that the public safety requires it,” Moskal wrote. “And while the constitution refers to Tennessee’s ‘army,’ Tennessee’s Military Code defines the ‘army’ as the Tennessee National Guard, and establishes the governor’s powers and authority as the commander-in-chief of the state’s military forces, including when and what conditions he may call the National Guard into active serve.”

Blackburn blasted the Chancellor’s ruling accusing her of being on the “war path to stop these efforts to make our city safer.”

“I don’t get it,” the Republican senator and gubernatorial candidate said. “It defies common sense. And to claim that the crime rates in Memphis are not a grave emergency or a disaster — I don’t know what she’s thinking.”

“Memphis had been declared the homicide capital of America, and that, in my opinion, is a grave emergency,” Blackburn told KWAM News Radio. “To a lot of Memphians, that is a grave emergency. And by arresting these thousands of criminals and gang members and child predators and rescuing children, people in Memphis want that to continue.”

Mayor Harris, along with City Councilman JB Smiley, Jr, Shelby County Commissioners Erika Sugarmon and Henri Brooks and state Reps. GA Hardaway and Gabby Salinas, and Sen. Jeff Yarbro, filed the lawsuit alleging Gov. Bill Lee did not have the authority to deploy the National Guard to Memphis.

“We should put Memphians first, not criminals first,” Blackburn told KWAM. “And it is going to be important that we continue this Memphis safe task force because the results speak for themselves. When you look at the fact that they have been able to get nearly 2 thousand criminals, murderers, rapists, people that have robbery, aggravated assault, people that are child predators, drug traffickers, they are locked up.”

Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti said Tuesday the state will challenge the ruling – so for now – the National Guard will remain a part of the Memphis Safe Task Force. Blackburn said there are additional options of the courts continue to block the Guard.

“The legislature should could go into special session and take an action,” she said. “There are actions that the president could take, but we want to make certain that we continue to make Memphis the safest city in the United States. It should be a model for how we overcome crime in these cities.”

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