Citation(s) from the GunPolicy.org literature library
Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. 2024 ‘Preemption of Local Laws in Mississippi.’ Other Laws & Policies. San Francisco, CA: Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. 19 April
Relevant contents
Local Authority to Regulate Firearms in Mississippi
Mississippi Code Annotated § 45-9-51 states that: "[s]ubject to the provisions of Section 45-9-53, no county or municipality may adopt any ordinance that restricts or requires the possession, transportation, sale, transfer or ownership of firearms or ammunition or their components."
Mississippi Code Annotated § 45-9-53(1) provides that the restrictions under section 45-9-51 do not affect local authority under other laws to require citizens or public employees to be armed for personal or national defense, law enforcement, or another lawful purpose, or to regulate the:
- Use of property or location of businesses pursuant to fire code, zoning ordinances, or land-use regulations, so long as such codes, ordinances and regulations are not used to circumvent the intent of Section 45-9-51;
- Use of firearms in cases of insurrection, riots and natural disasters in which the city finds such regulation necessary to protect the health and safety of the public, except the county or municipality may not regulate the lawful possession of firearms in the home, place of business or in transit to and from the home or place of business;
- Carrying of a firearm at: 1) a public park or at a public meeting of a county, municipality or other governmental body; 2) a political rally, parade or official political meeting; or 3) a non-firearm-related school, college or professional athletic event; or
- Receipt of firearms by pawnshops.
Municipalities and counties may regulate the discharge of firearms. A municipality or county may not apply a discharge-related regulation in an extraterritorial jurisdiction of the municipality or county, or in an area annexed by the municipality or county after September 1, 1981, if the firearm is discharged in a manner not reasonably expected to cause a projectile to cross the boundary of a tract of land, and is a:
- Shotgun, air rifle, air pistol or BB gun discharged on a tract of land of ten acres or more and more than 150 feet from a residence or occupied building located on another property; or
- Center fire, rim fire, or muzzle-loading rifle or pistol discharged on a tract of land of 50 acres or more and more than 300 feet from a residence or occupied building located on another property.
There is no case law interpreting either Section 45-9-51 or Section 45-9-53.
The Mississippi Attorney General has addressed whether a municipal mayor or city council has the authority to ban gun shows in a municipality and at the Mississippi County Fairgrounds. The Attorney General opined that while the mayor in a mayor-council municipality (in this case, Jackson, Mississippi) has the authority to enforce the municipal charter and ordinances, he or she does not have the authority to regulate gun shows by executive order, particularly in light of the provisions of sections 45-9-51 and 45-9-53.
For similar reasons, the Attorney General has opined that the Jackson City Council has no authority to ban gun shows on the Mississippi State Fairgrounds (located in Jackson). According to the Attorney General, the city lacks this power because exclusive authority to regulate the State Fairgrounds rests with the Mississippi Fair Commission, and because sections 45-9-51 and 45-9-53 specifically prohibit municipalities from regulating the possession, transportation, sale, transfer or ownership of firearms and ammunition…
[Editor's note: The Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence regularly updates its webpages with new data as US gun regulation evolves state by state. For the most up-to-date information on US gun laws, please refer to the Giffords URL below]