A federal judge struck down a controversial law Tuesday that would penalize Missouri police for enforcing federal gun laws.
U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes Missouri鈥檚 Second Amendment Preservation Act (SAPA) unconstitutional and said it violated the standard that federal law trumps state law.
The Missouri statute is an 鈥渦nconstitutional (violation of) federal law and is designed to be just that,鈥� Wimes wrote.
The law allowed citizens to file suit for up to $50,000 if they believed that enforcement of federal gun laws violated their Second Amendment rights to keep and bear arms.
鈥淪APA exposes citizens to greater harm by interfering with the Federal Government鈥檚 ability to enforce lawfully enacted firearm regulations designed by Congress for the purpose of protecting citizens with the limits of the Constitution," Wimes wrote in his 24-page opinion.
The U.S. Justice Department originally filed suit a year ago to prevent Missouri from enforcing the law passed by the Republican-controlled General Assembly and signed by Gov. Mike Parson.
The Justice Department complained that Missouri鈥檚 law hindered cooperation between federal, state and local law enforcement. In a statement, the department cited local police agencies leaving joint federal task forces as an example of the fallout from the law鈥檚 passage.
Former Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt had called the Justice Department鈥檚 lawsuit 鈥減artisan鈥� and said President Joe Biden鈥檚 administration put 鈥減olitics ahead of public safety鈥� by filing the challenge to the state law.
鈥淭he Biden Department of Justice has now filed yet another partisan lawsuit that seeks to attack Missourians鈥� Second Amendment rights,鈥� Schmitt said.
In a statement, current Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey said his office plans to appeal the decision and is prepared to defend the preservation act at the highest court, anticipating a better result in the Eighth Circuit than it got from the U.S. District of Western Missouri on Tuesday.
鈥淭he Second Amendment is what makes the rest of the amendments possible. If the state legislature wants to expand upon the foundational rights codified in the Second Amendment, they have the authority to do that,鈥� Bailey said in a statement. 鈥淏ut SAPA is also about the Tenth Amendment (that leaves some powers to the states). It鈥檚 about federalism and individual liberty.鈥�
In a statement, Parson said his office supports the attorney general鈥檚 office plan to appeal the ruling.
In a statement, Parson said his office supports the attorney general鈥檚 office plan to appeal the ruling.
A spokesperson with the Kansas City Police Department said the department is monitoring the case and how it might affect operations.
鈥淲e are ready to make any adjustments to conform to the laws as passed, much the same as we did upon the initial passing of the law,鈥� said Sgt. Jake Becchina.
A spokesperson with the Kansas City Police Department said the department is monitoring the case and how it might affect operations.
鈥淲e are ready to make any adjustments to conform to the laws as passed, much the same as we did upon the initial passing of the law,鈥� said Sgt. Jake Becchina.
The Justice Department鈥檚 suit is the third challenge to the law since it was passed in 2021. Since then, the ban on enforcing federal gun laws has drawn leagues of critics, ranging from law enforcement agencies to gun control advocates.
St. Louis, St. Louis County and Jackson County filed suit to block the law in 2021. A separate suit filed by the city of Arnold, a St. Louis suburb, was backed by 60 Missouri police chiefs who said the law needed clarification so police know which federal agencies they can and cannot work with.
鈥淭he Second Amendment Preservation Act belongs in the dustbin of history, remembered only as a uniquely awful and harmful piece of legislation,鈥� Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas tweeted Tuesday.
In a joint statement, St. Louis City Mayor Tishaura Jones, St. Louis County Executive Sam Page and Jackson County Executive Frank White Jr. called the decision 鈥渆ncouraging鈥� and called for Missouri鈥檚 legislature to enact common-sense gun safety measures.
Allison Anderman, senior counsel and director of local policy for the gun control advocacy group Giffords, called Wimes' ruling a victory for gun control advocates.
In a livestream on Facebook, Aaron Dorr, a gun rights lobbyist and activist, called the judge鈥檚 ruling an opportunity to push more laws like Missouri鈥檚 and gun rights victories in higher courts.
鈥淎ll this judge has done is given us a platform that we need to take this all the way up to the Eighth Circuit and from there maybe all the way to the Supreme Court and get binding national precedent behind Missouri鈥檚 SAPA law,鈥� said Dorr, who鈥檚 worked with his brothers to advance 鈥淲e had to get past this defeat first to get to this next step.鈥�
Anderman said laws like Missouri鈥檚 are spreading quickly throughout the country. Currently, a dozen states are considering the legislation and two states, Alaska and Idaho, have already passed similar laws.
鈥淚n recent years, legislators have upped the ante and started trying to invalidate federal law by going after their very own law enforcement officers,鈥� Anderman said.
In Missouri, Anderman said the law made it more difficult for law enforcement to do their work and made life more dangerous for its citizens.
鈥淚n Missouri, in particular, we have seen all sorts of cooperation between local and state law enforcement with federal law enforcement agencies grind to a halt, 鈥� Anderman said. 鈥漌hat that really does is put lives in jeopardy.鈥�
KCUR's Peggy Lowe contributed to this story.
