Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch and gun rights advocates say Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba doesn't have the legal authority to ban the open carry of firearms during the coronavirus pandemic.

"The mayor may have the best of intentions, but the Mississippi Supreme Court has made it clear you can't deprive a person of a constitutional right," said attorney Thomas Payne, who has successfully argued gun rights cases before the state high court.

Fitch said in a letter, dated April 26, to Lumumba the city lacks statutory authority to suspend a state statute or constitutional provision. "Accordingly, I ask that you rescind the order immediately."

Citing the death of two children to recent gun violence and other incidents, Lumumba on Friday said in a video he signed an executive order to temporarily ban open carry of firearms in the city, so long as there's a civil emergency related to the COVID-19 crisis.

"How many babies must we bury?" Lumumba asked in a video statement on the city's website.

Temporary ban:Jackson mayor temporarily halts open carry of guns under pandemic

But Fitch said "cities can't usurp the authority of the state's elected Legislature and violate the constitutional rights of the people. I support the 2nd Amendment and will enforce the laws of this state."

"I have serious concerns about the order and the burden it imposes upon Mississippians’ constitutional right to possess firearms," Fitch said.

The order remains in effect through Thursday. It is possible it will be extended, according to the city's existing stay-at-home orders.

Although Lumumba said his order is temporary, he urged repeal of concealed carry as it relates to open carry.

Payne said Lumumba's order doesn't comply with the letter of the law and it violates the 2nd Amendment as well as the Mississippi Constitution.

"It's a no-brainer, it's unconstitutional and illegal," Payne said.

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Firearms instructor and gun-rights advocate Rick Ward said he has discussed the temporary ban with several attorneys and said there will certainly be a suit filed quickly in response.

Ward said it needs to be clarified there is no open carry law in Mississippi. He said there was a line in a paragraph of the concealed carry law prior to 2013 that said "do not construe that you may openly carry a weapon."

The 2013, the Legislature approved House Bill 2, and it was signed into law by then-Gov. Phil Bryant, clarifying the concealed carry law, removed the sentence about open carry. Ward said he proposed the change because they had no authority to forbid or regulate open carry since it was in the Constitution.

Ward said the state Legislature was given exclusive authority to regulate firearms. If the state Legislature was not given authority to regulate open carry, it certainly would not have been given to a city legislative body (councilmen) and under no circumstances the executive branch (mayor), he said.

"The mayor is way off-base and I am confident there will be a quick legal fix to the circus he has created," Ward said. "Guns are not the problem. Criminals are the problem and they couldn't care less about his executive order."

Marvin Clifford, another gun rights advocate, also said Lumumba's order is illegal.

"Legal action against the city of Jackson is being planned and will happen very soon," Clifford said.

Contact Jimmie E. Gates at 601-961-7212 or jgates@gannett.com. Follow @jgatesnews on Twitter.