Missouri Gov. Mike Parson (R) signed legislation over the weekend that bans state police from enforcing federal gun laws.
The story: Parson, a former sheriff, announced his support for the “Second Amendment Preservation Act” on Thursday and said that he would sign it into law.
“The Governor is aware of the legal implications of this bill, but also that, now more than ever, we must define a limited role for federal government in order to protect citizen’s rights guaranteed by the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution,” Parson’s spokeswoman Kelli Jones said in a statement, the Kansas City Star reported last week.
“This is about empowering people to protect themselves and acknowledging the federalist constitutional structure of our government,” she added.
On Saturday, the governor kept his promise and signed the legislation at a ceremony in Lee’s Summit near Kansas City.
“Throughout my law enforcement career and now as Governor of the state of Missouri, I have and always will stand for the Constitution and our Second Amendment rights,” said Gov. Parson. “This legislation today draws a line in the sand and demonstrates our commitment to reject any attempt by the federal government to circumvent the fundamental right Missourians have to keep and bear arms to protect themselves and their property.”
The bill, which was introduced by Rep. Jered Taylor, would bar police from enforcing “federal acts, laws, executive orders, administrative orders, rules, and regulations [that] shall be considered infringements on the people’s right to keep and bear arms, as guaranteed by Amendment II of the Constitution of the United States and Article I, Section 23 of the Constitution of Missouri.”
It also allows a person who believes that their constitutional rights were violated via the enforcement of federal gun laws by police to sue for up to $50,000.
Proponents of the legislation say that it would protect the Second Amendment rights of Missourians from restrictive federal gun laws.
Critics say the law would enable what they reportedly call a“domestic violence loophole.” They note that Missouri passed a measure in 2016 allowing people to carry a concealed firearm which subsequently, nixed the requirement for state sheriffs to conduct background checks.
Signing the bill into law would make the federal law prohibiting gun possession for those convicted of domestic violence “invalid” in Missouri. Under state law, only felons and fugitives are prohibited from buying firearms.
