A valiant effort by Missouri lawmakers to reinforce gun rights for its citizens was brushed aside last week when a legislative committee overwhelmingly voted to kill it.
The tally in the House General Laws Committee was 9-3 against the Second Amendment Preservation Act. Without a changing of the guard, the vote may have been the death knell for the law pushed by gun rights supporters.
State officials mounted a defense against federal overreach
Originally passed in 2021, the act ensured that state prosecutors and law enforcement officials would not cooperate with any federal effort that violated the Second Amendment.
Authorities in the Show Me State fought a lawsuit from the U.S. Department of Justice, which acted the following year. The statute was struck down by federal District Judge Brian Wimes, and the Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals later upheld that determination.
The U.S. Supreme Court rejected Missouri’s ensuing appeal, but that did not stop Second Amendment supporters from pushing forward.
Supporters vow to press forward to protect gun rights
State Rep. Bill Hardwick (R) reintroduced the Second Amendment Protection Act only to receive bipartisan pushback. Critics charged that law enforcement and prosecutors opposed the measure and that it would open the state up to more costly litigation.
Still others cited the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause, which grants the federal government power over state laws.
Hardwick acknowledged last week’s defeat but said he is not giving up. He and other supporters believe the contentious law is necessary to defend against federal overreach.
The original law was enacted in 2021, only five years ago, but in a very different political atmosphere that saw gun rights under daily attack by the previous administration. It is no wonder that Missouri’s strong Second Amendment community fought back against Washington.
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