Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum has turned down a request for the City to withdraw a legal brief objecting to the Supreme Court McGirt ruling.

The City’s Indian Affairs Commission had asked the Mayor to withdraw a brief written by the City’s attorney, that outlined reasons the ruling was disrupting law enforcement in Tulsa. In a letter responding to the Commission, Bynum wrote “Hiding the experience of law enforcement personnel from the Supreme Court would be a disservice to every person who is impacted by this matter.”

Related Story: Native Rights Activists Protest Tulsa's Decision To Revisit McGirt Ruling

Native American tribes, and their supporters, believe the McGirt ruling should stand, and that claims of justice denied in the months since the ruling are overblown. The tribes are building up their judicial systems, and federal prosecutors are handling some cases removed from state courts because of the ruling.

The city governments of Tulsa and Owasso jointly filed the brief that states in part “Among other things, McGirt renders cities practically powerless to protect crime victims who happen to be Native Americans.”

After Tulsa’s brief was filed, the Indian Affairs Commission met to hear public comments about the brief, and protestors gathered outside City Hall.