Dem TN Mayor: Constitutional Carry Made Crime Rise, But ‘We’re Making Great Strides’

On Tuesday’s edition of NBC’s “Meet the Press Now,” Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris (D) blamed constitutional carry for “many guns ending up in many, many places where they are stolen, stolen out of cars and end up in the criminal stream. And we’ve seen our crime statistics go up dramatically as a result of those kinds of laws being passed out of Nashville.” But also stated that “We’re making great strides here” on crime.

Harris said, “I think the state of Tennessee is one of the best places around. I think one of the problems we have in West Tennessee right now is the proliferation of guns, and why we have that problem is because we have constitutional carry here or permitless carry. And so, that has resulted in many, many guns ending up in many, many places where they are stolen, stolen out of cars and end up in the criminal stream. And we’ve seen our crime statistics go up dramatically as a result of those kinds of laws being passed out of Nashville.”

Harris also stated that he would welcome more federal resources, but not the National Guard.

Later, he added, “We could always do more, but what Donald Trump has done is try to create the impression that Tennessee is a hellscape. He posted on social media, just today, a video showing a warzone. That’s not the Tennessee I know. And that’s not accurate. We’re making great strides here. This is one of the best places on earth.”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett