Officials in Memphis thought they were being cute. They wanted to put guns on the ballot, knowing full well that it wouldn’t really do anything. Preemption is the law in Tennessee, but they wanted to have people vote on gun control anyway.

I guess the idea was to try and create some degree of pressure on state lawmakers to allow the city to do whatever they want with regard to guns.

Unfortunately for them, it seems state officials aren’t in the mood for “cute.” Instead, they issued a stern warning to Memphis city officials, one that those officials might want to listen to.

ASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee’s top Republican leaders on Monday threatened to withhold tens of millions of dollars in state funding from left-leaning Memphis should leaders continue with plans to place three local gun control initiatives on the November ballot.

Earlier this year, Memphis’ city council approved asking voters in November if they wanted to tweak the city charter to require permits to carry a handgun, ban the possession of AR-15 style rifles and implement a so-called “red flag” ordinance, which allows law enforcement officials to remove firearms from those found to be an imminent danger to themselves or others.

The city council had been discussing the ballot measures for more than a year, acknowledging at times that they were potentially risking the ire of the Republican-dominant Legislature since the measures likely conflict with Tennessee’s lax gun laws.

…

With Election Day less than three months away, House Speaker Cameron Sexton and Senate Speaker Randy McNally issued a statement Monday warning Memphis about the consequences of advancing ballot measures that go against the wishes of the Statehouse.

“The Tennessee Constitution clearly outlines the roles and responsibilities of the state and local governments,” McNally, a Republican from Oak Ridge, said in the statement. “Shelby County needs to understand that despite their hopes and wishes to the contrary, they are constrained by these explicit constitutional guardrails.”

After the statement was released, Secretary of State Tre Hargett warned that his office would not approve Memphis’ ballot if it included the gun initiatives

Memphis officials claim this is just about giving a voice to the people, but it doesn’t change the fact that if they’re overstepping their authority, they’re still overstepping their authority.

Plus, let’s be clear, if it’s on the ballot, many people will think they’re voting for gun control and not their opinion on gun control. That’s bout to lead to some degree of mix-up among the electorate, many of whom don’t follow politics closely.

Hence the reason I actually support what Republican lawmakers are doing there.

The truth is that nothing would be accomplished anyway. As noted, they can’t pass gun control locally no matter what the people say. All it would do is rile folks up over something that literally can’t happen. So what would actually be accomplished with this that couldn’t be accomplished with something like a petition?

Nothing.

But this is about creating the illusion that it’s official.

Memphis wants gun control as it is. We all know this because these local officials have been talking about it for a while and no one has voted them out of office for it. It’s just not up to them, nor should it be.

Officials there should learn to get used to disappointment.